CHANDER BHAN AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THERE are three Appellants, who stand convicted under Section 306, Indian Penal Code, and sentenced to seven years' rigorous imprisonment as also to pay a fine of Rs. 500/ -, each, in default further rigorous imprisonment for six months. These are Radhey Shyam and his parents Chander Bhan and Smt. Phulan Devi.

(2.) PITHILY put, the allegation of the prosecution against the Appellants was that they had abetted the suicide of Smt. Santra, the wife of Radhey Shyam. To begin with, the prosecution had even ventured to charge the Appellants under Section 302, Indian Penal Coda, but the learned trial Judge found no evidence to support the charge and, therefore, they were acquitted of the offence under Section 302, Indian Penal Code. The entire complex thus got charged. From one of volitional murder it turned out to be volitional suicide conspired into, aided and abetted by the Appellants. As the story goes, Smt. Santra was the daughter of Bhim Singh PW. The marriage between Radhey Shyam Appellant and Santra took place in April 1980. The parties are traditional shop -keepers and petty businessmen, whore dowry is one of the afflictions. As it turned out to be, the dowry which Smt. Santra brought at the time of the marriage was not the satisfaction of her in -laws. All was not thus straight in the union and allegedly the Appellants started harassing, torturing and taunting the unfortunate girl. She was allegedly even given beatings. On the demand created by Radhey Shyam, Bhim Singh, father of Santra, gave at one time Rs. 10,000/ - for starting business For a while the matter seemed to cool down, but later she was turned out of her husband's house and had to seek shelter in her parents' house at Gobindgarh in Punjab. Further, in the month of July/August, 1981, another demand of Rs. 20,000/ - was created. Since that could not be met and the Appellants were adamant in obtaining it, Santra was constrained to file a petition against her husband under Section 125, Code of Criminal Procedure, in the Court of the Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Amloh. The petition, after some hearings, was compromised on intervention some respectable. Though Santra was net willing to go to her husband's house apprehending danger to her life but on persuasion of others she accompanied him. The afore described torture continued against her and she complained to her father about it on her two or three visits to Gobindgarh. In the meantime, however, she had given birth to a female child. After three or four months of the compromise in the petition, a son was born to her in December 1983. The birth of the son again constrained the father of Santra to send her customary presents known as Chhuchhak worth Rs. 5,000/ -. But again there was dissatisfaction over its worth, for the Appellants expected much more. Some demands in the form of Chadars made by the Appellants were met by Santra's father but he could not meet other demands to increase the value of Chhuchhak to the tune of Rs. 20,000/ -. Such was the background in which Santra was living in her husband's house.

(3.) THE medical expert who examined the deceased on December 29, 1983, observed that she was smelling of kerosene oil and all the injuries suffered by her were dangerous to her life because the burns were fairly extensive. Despite treatment, the victim died while being examined for her burns. The Appellants were then arrested for the charges of murder and this is how the matter was put up for trial