PREMWATI Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is Criminal Misc. Petition No. 23392-M of 1998 whereby Smt. Premwati and her husband Shri Chand have prayed for the grant of bail to them in case FIR No. 200 dated 30.5.1998 under Section 304-B/201 IPC of PS Sadar, Palwal.

(2.) THE prosecution case, in brief, is that Madan Lal son of Kanwal Pal had married his daughter Pushpa on 20.5.1995 to Ramesh son of Shri Chand, resident of Katesra. His son-in-law Ramesh died two months after the marriage in a road accident. After his death, Pushpa was married to Suresh, the younger brother of Ramesh in the year 1996 and Madan Lal gave him dowry according to his financial capacity. According to the prosecution, Suresh, his father Shri Chand, mother Premwati and sister Om Wati were not satisfied with the dowry brought by Smt. Pushpa in her marriage to Suresh. Pushpa came to her parental home and told her mother and brother that her in-laws were harassing her saying that the dowry brought by her was inadequate. Madan Lal counselled his daughter and sent her to her matrimonial home. Thereafter, Shri Chand and Suresh stopped visiting the parental home of Smt. Pushpa and they continued harassing Smt. Pushpa saying that the dowry brought by her was inadequate. On 28.5.98 Pushpa's brother Rakesh went to Pushpa's matrimonial home where Shri Chand, Suresh, Premwati and Om Wati were found present. They refused to send Pushpa with Rakesh saying that they were not in a position to give anything in dowry. Pushpa told Rakesh that she was being harassed by her in-laws on account of dowry repeatedly. Rakesh gave a gold ring to Pushpa and returned to his village Misa. On 30.5.1998 Madan Lal received information that Shri Chand, Premwati, Suresh and Om Wati had killed Pushpa on account of their greed for dowry, having remained unsatiated. Madan Lal alongwith Rakesh, brother Sham Lal and some other people of his village Misa reached the village Katesra, that is the village of Suresh where they saw that they had killed Pushpa and cremated her. When they tried to confront them about the cause of death, they gave them no satisfactory reply.

(3.) PUSHPA was married to Suresh in November 1996. Her death took place in May 1998 i.e. within a period of one and a half years of her marriage. Learned AAG for the State of Haryana submitted that Ramesh was serving in the Delhi Police as a constable. Pushpa was next of kin of Ramesh. She would have been given compassionate appointment in place of Ramesh and there was a call from Delhi Police to Pushpa for giving appointment to her as constable. Feeling that every benefit in the wake of death of Ramesh would be given to Smt. Pushpa, they married Pushpa to Suresh so that Suresh was able to get compassionate appointment and other benefits accruing to her on the death of Ramesh, which will also remain in the family. It was submitted that Madan Lal was not willing to marry Pushpa to Suresh and it was on account of their pressure that he married her to Suresh. Suresh requested to Delhi Police for compassionate appointment in place of Pushpa in lieu of death of Ramesh and he was taken in Delhi Police. All the benefits which had otherwise accrued to Pushpa were grabbed by Suresh.