SURENDER Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal has been filed against the judgment and order dated 08.04.2003 whereby the appellants have been convicted under Section 304 -B IPC and have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment of seven years.

(2.) THE allegations levelled in the FIR by the complainant -PW3 were that his daughter Sadhna was married to the appellant No.2 -Rakesh and he used to beat her and not give her any money. After about 3 years of the marriage, he was informed by one Ratnesh that the appellant No.2 along with his two elder brothers -appellants No.1 and 3 had murdered his daughter. When the complainant went to the house of the appellants he saw the burnt dead body of his daughter lying over there and the match box and a can of kerosene was also there. In his statement, the complainant stated that the appellants had killed her daughter because of dowry. Similar was the statement of his wife PW2. The testimony of other witnesses need not be discussed. However, it is necessary to be mentioned here that witness Ratnesh (who had informed the complainant) turned hostile. The trial Court convicted all the three appellants under Section 304 -B as mentioned above. Hence, the present appeal.

(3.) THE precise argument raised by the learned counsel for the appellants is that the prosecution led no evidence to the effect that soon before her death the deceased was subjected to demand of dowry. He has relied upon the judgment in the case of State of Rajasthan vs. Girdhari Lal, 2013 4 RCR(Cri) 692, wherein the Hon'ble Supreme Court held as follows: -