SURJIT KAUR AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant appeal has been preferred against the impugned judgment dated 17.05.2005 passed by the Addl. Sessions Judge (Ad), Amritsar, vide which the accused/appellants were convicted under Section 306 IPC and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years and also to pay fine of Rs.1000/- each and in default of payment of fine, to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for one month each.

(2.) As per statement Ex.PH on 25.10.2004 made by complainant-Prem Lata to the police, her son deceased Mahesh Kumar @ Johni had got married to appellant No.2 Kawaljit Kaur about 1-1/2 years prior to the occurrence. The relations between the couple had turned a little sour as the deceased was continuously being pressurized by the appellants to move out of his parents house and start living independently with his wife(appellant No.2) to which the deceased was not agreeable. As a consequence thereof,the deceased had slipped into depression.A day prior to the occurrence, the appellant Surjit Kaur, mother-in- law of the deceased, came to the house of the deceased and yet again pressurized him to start living separately from his mother. On 24.10.2004 the deceased and the appellant-wife went to the parental house of the latter in a car which was driven by PW5 Rasal Singh. After dropping both the deceased and appellant Kawaljit Kaur, Rasal Singh PW5 came back to the complainant with a message that the deceased had sent for her. While the complainant and PW5 Rasal Singh were going in a car towards the house of appellant Surjit Kaur, they saw the deceased alongwith one Jagir Singh and Angrej Singh (brothers-in-law of appellant-wife) coming on a scooter. Rasal Singh stopped the car and made the deceased sit with him, who then disclosed that he had consumed poison being fed up with the behavior of the accused appellants. He was rushed to the hospital by the complainant where he died the following morning. A formal FIR Ex.PH/2 was registered on the statement of complainant-Prem Lata on 25.10.2004.

(3.) On completion of the investigation, the appellants were charged for an offence punishable under section 306 IPC to which they pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.