JITENDER KUMAR Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE two appeals are directed against the same judgment, i.e. judgment dated 17th June, 2006, of the Fast Track Court, Mandi and, therefore, they are being disposed of together by this common judgment.

(2.) APPEAL No.200 of 2006 has been filed by appellants Jitender Kumar, his father Ram Dass and mother Krishani alias Parseeno, who shall hereinafter be referred to as accused. The second appeal, i.e. Criminal Appeal No.60 of 2007, has been filed by the State.

(3.) ALLEGATIONS on which the accused were put on trial may be summed up thus. Deceased Saroja Devi, daughter of PW-8 Rangil Singh and sister of PW-9 Ashok Kumar, was married to accused Jitender Kumar on 17th June, 2002. Two-three months after the marriage, accused Jitender Kumar, his father Ram Dass and mother Krishani Devi, both of whom are co-accused with him in this case, started ill-treating and giving beating to the deceased for her having not brought dowry to their expectations. Once in the month of July, 2003, around 11 in the night, she was beaten up so severely that she kept wailing and crying till early next morning and one of the neighbours of the accused, named Nirmala Gupta (PW-5), was so upset that she went to the house of the accused and knocked at the door and when it was not opened she threatened the accused that she would call all the neighbours in case the door was not opened and when ultimately the door was opened she found that the deceased had been brutally beaten up and on the asking of the deceased she then telephonically informed her parents about her plight. Deceased had reported this incident to the Police vide complaint Ex. PW-13/A on 21st July, 2003. Ultimately, the matter was compromised and a compromise deed Ex. PW-2/A was drawn and the deceased continued to live at the place of the accused once again. On 1st April, 2004, around 10.00 a.m., the deceased was again beaten up very badly by the three accused. She went to the verandah of a neighbour, named PW-1 Shakti Chand Chandel, and requested him to inform her parents about her plight. She also told him that she apprehended her elimination and so her parents be asked to take her back to her parental house immediately. PW-1 Shakti Chand Chandel then made a call to the parents of the deceased. Her brother PW-9 Ashok Kumar accompanied by his Mama Budhi Singh reached the house of the accused and carried the deceased with him to her parental house in a village of District Bilaspur. Next morning, she was taken to Bilaspur, which is a District Headquarter. There she got recorded a complaint Ex. PW-6/A from a petition-writer. The complaint was addressed and presented to the Superintendent of Police, who forwarded it to the Incharge of Women Cell. The deceased was then taken to the Zonal Hospital, Bilaspur, where PW-12 Dr. G.D. Jasssal conducted her medico legal examination and recorded the following observations: