KISHORI LAL Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal has been preferred by the appellants, who have been convicted for offences under Sections 498A and 306 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as the IPC). The prosecution case in brief is that three accused, who were arraigned before the learned trial Court i.e. Shri Kishori Lal, (appellant No. 1 herein), Shri Susheel Kumar and Smt. Berfi Devi, (appellant No. 2 herein) are related to each other. Shri Kishori Lal and Shri Susheel Kumar were brothers and Smt. Berfi was their mother. The deceased Seema Devi daughter of Inder Singh (PW 1) was married to the first appellant herein Shri Kishori Lal in May, 1999. In 2000, three days after Diwali, Kishori Lal asked Shri Inder Singh telephonically to come to their house whereupon Shri Inder Singh and his wife rushed there and were informed by this accused that the deceased had not been eating food for the last three days. On further inquiry the deceased informed them that she has been beaten up by Kishori Lal and her mother in law (Smt. Berfi Devi). She also showed her injuries to PW 1 Shri Inder Singh and PW 2 Smt. Amri Devi. Seema Devi also bore twins who had died immediately after birth. But even in this situation she was compelled and harassed by accused Barfi Devi to work in the fields, perform house hold work and wash clothes etc. after 7-8 days of the delivery which, according to the prosecution is not a normal course of conduct in case of ladies who suffer trauma of delivery. As a result of this arduous labour she had swollen feet and hands. On 22.2.2001 accused Susheel Kumar informed PW 1 Inder Singh telephonically to come to the house of Pradhan of the Gram Panchayat. When he and his wife rushed there, he found that deceased Seema, accused Kishori Lal, Susheel Kumar and Marchu Ram were present in the house. Seema complained to the Up-pradhan, Shri Ramesh Chand, PW 8 that she had been beaten up by accused Kishori Lal and Barfi Devi on 21.2.2001 when false allegations have been levelled against her that she was of a bad character. She also showed injuries suffered by her to the Pradhan, who asked PW-1 Shri Inder Singh to take her away and further asked them to appear before the Gram Panchayat on 24.2.2001. On that day both the parties appeared and the Panchayat directed that the accused Kishori Lal should not beat Smt. Seema in future. A compromise was arrived at between the parties and they were sent to home. On 7.3.2001, accused Kishori Lal again telephoned Shri Inder Singh, PW 1 asking him to come to his house whereupon he and his wife Amri Devi, PW 2 went there and saw that their daughter Seema was lying dead in the Court yard of the house. He suspected that she might have been killed by the accused as they were maltreating, torturing and harassing her. Information was sent to the police whereupon PW 11 Suhru Ram reach the spot and recorded statement of Inder Singh, PW 1, Ex. PA on the basis of which FIR Ex. PW11/D was registered against the accused persons under Sections 498-A and 306 of the IPC. Autopsy was conducted on the deceased by Dr. A.K. Sharma and Dr. N.K. Sankhyan. Ex. PB is the report testifying that she died because of respiratory failure due to suspected poison. Report of chemical examiner Ex. PC states that there were traces of phosphide poison in Ex. P-1 (intestines), Ex. P-2 (viscera), Ex. P-4 (blood) and Ex. P-5 (remains of the contents of vomit of the deceased).

(2.) The learned trial Court on the evidence on record, convicted accused Kishori Lal and Berfi Devi and acquitted accused Susheel Kumar. In order to arrive at this conclusion, the learned trial Court considered the evidence of PW 1 Inder Singh, father of the deceased who had corroborated the facts as stated by him in his complaint including the fact that the deceased had given birth to twins, who had died immediately thereafter but accused had forced her to work immediately after 5-7 days of delivery, as a result of which her feet and hands were swollen. In the month of November, 2001 the deceased was beaten up by the accused persons. He was informed on telephone by accused Kishori Lal that she was not taking food. Thereafter he and his wife PW 2 Amri Devi went there. He reiterates the other facts stated by him in the complaint.

(3.) Pw 2 Smt. Amri Devi also corroborates her husband when she states that her daughter was beaten up and harassed by the accused persons. She admitted that the matter was reported to the Panchayat only once. PW 3 Subahsh Chand states that Smt. Seema was her sister and that she was beaten up somewhere in the year 2000 and thereafter she returned to her parental home. Accused Kishori Lal and some persons came to take her back. He says that on the same day at around 4 p.m., Smt. Berfi Devi started abusing Smt. Seema and threw the clothes out of their house and beaten her. He admits that no report was filed by them with the Panchayat, Police or Magistrate with respect to the beatings administered to her. They also did not get her medically treated for her injuries. PW 4 Shri Devi Ram was declared hostile after he stated that the accused had never beaten the deceased in his presence. He was cross-examined at length but nothing material has emerged from his cross-examination.