NIRMALA DEVI Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Additional Sessions Judge, Jalandhar by his judgment dated 15-3-1993 convicted the appellants of the charge under Section 304-B read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as 'the Code') and Section 498-A read with Section 34 of the Code. In respect of the offence under Section 304-B read with Section 34 of the Code, appellants No. 1 and 2 were sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for seven years and appellant No. 3 was sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life. No separate sentence under Section 498-A read with Section 34 of the Code was passed.

(2.) Deceased - Resham Kaur was the wife of appellant No. 3 Sohan Lal. Appellant No. 1 Nirmla Devi and appellant No. 2 - Daulat Ram are the mother and father, respectively, of the appellant No. 3. The marriage of Resham Kaur and appellant No. 3 - Sohan Lal was performed on 9-7-1990. Soon after marriage, Resham Kaur went to stay with her husband. The First Information Report in this case indicates that after about a month since marriage, the deceased - Resham Kaur came to her parent's house and had then complained that her husband and parents-in-law harrassed her almost every day on the issue of insufficient dowry and for having not given a television set and a refrigerator. On knowing such an attitude met with to Resham Kaur, her father, along with her uncle Gulzara Ram (Complainant), Darshan Singh - the Sarpanch of the village, and Joga Singh - a member of the Panchayat, together, went to the house of Sohan Lal and used their good office to persuade him and his parents to give good treatment to Resham Kaur. The First Information Report indicates that all these efforts turned futile and the harassment to Resham Kaur on the issue of insufficient dowry continued. Thereafter on 13-1-1992, Resham Kaur with husband Sohan Lal came to her parent's house to celebrate wedding ceremony of her brother - Lehmber Kumar. On that occassion also, Resham Kaur made a grievance regarding harassment met out to her as before. The parents of Resham Kaur, however, pleaded with Soban Lal and his parents that they were poor and unable to give the articles like television set and refrigerator. After the wedding of her brother was over, Resham Kaur stayed for some days at her parent's house. On 20-2-1992, father of Resham Kaur along with Gulzara Ram took Resham Kaur with them and reached the house of Sohan Lal. On this occassion also, father of Resham Kaur and her uncle Gulzara Ram expressed their inability to supply television set and refrigerator. On 22-2-1992, Gulzara Ram, the uncle of Resham Kaur went to the house of appellants to see his niece. There he found the house locked and from the neighbours, he learnt that the mother-in-law of Resham Kaur had taken her to Civil Hospital at Adampur. Thereupon Gulzara Ram went to Civil Hospital, Adampur. There he learnt that Resham Kaur had been referred to the civil hospital, Jalandhar. He, therefore, came to Jalandhar, and there in the hospital he learnt that Resham Kaur had already passed away. The doctors had already informed the police regarding the admission of Resham Kaur who was then diagonosed as a victim of poisoning. The police had arrived at the hospital. While in the hospital, the complaint of Gulzara Ram came to be recorded at about 2.00 p.m. It was duly registered and investigation started.

(3.) During the autopsy examination of the dead body of Resham Kaur, the contents from the stomach, pieces of small and large intestines, pieces of liver and kidney were taken by way of sample. These were subjected to chemical examination. The analyser opined that in the contents of the stomach and in the sample of small and large intestines a poisonous substance known as Aluminum Phosphide which is a pesticide, was detected, and the same was sufficient to cause death in ordinary course of nature.