STATE OF H.P. Vs. SANDHI DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) STATE has appealed against the judgment of the Sessions Court, whereby the respondents, who were put on trial on the charge of abetting the commission of suicide by Smt. Sunita Devi (daughter -in -law of respondent No.1 Smt. Sandhi Devi, sister -in -law of respondent No. 3 Gurbachan and wife of respondent No. 2 Surjit) and subjecting her to cruelty, have been acquitted.

(2.) FACTS , on which the respondents were charged with the aforesaid offences, may be noticed. Deceased Sunita Devi, daughter of PW -2 Bidhi Chand and PW -6 Shalo Devi, was married to respondent Surjit, about four years prior to her death. (She died on 20.1.1991). For about a year or so, after the marriage, the deceased was treated nicely, but thereafter the respondents allegedly started subjecting her to physical torture. Once the deceased made a complaint to the Panchayat about an incident of beating given to her by respondent Sandhi Devi and Gurbachan, on 9.1.1991. Dhani Ram, husband of respondent Sandhi Devi, also made a complaint to the Panchayat that PW -3 Ajit Ram, pardhan of the Panchayat, who happened to be the husband of the sister of the mother of the deceased, was not allowing the deceased to settle down at her in -laws place, for the reasons best known to him. PW3 Ajit Ram advised the deceased to lodge a report with the police. It appears that the report was lodged on 10.1.1991 and the deceased was got medically examined on the same day. Three simple injuries were noticed on her person by PW -14 Dr. S.K. Mahajan, who conducted the medico legal examination on 10.1.1991 at 7 PM. About the time of infliction of the injures, the doctor gave the opinion that the same had been sustained in less than 12 hours.

(3.) ON 20.2.1991, the deceased consumed aluminium phosphide. Respondent Sandhi Devi noticed her vomitting around 8 a.m. She went to DW -1 Bhagi Ram, a Member of Gram Panchayat, and informed him that the deceased had been vomitting and it appeared that she had consumed some poisonous substance. DW -1 Bhagi Ram visited the house of respondent Sandhi Devi. Deceased told him, on inquiry, that she had swallowed something wrong by mistaking the same for medicine and that she be saved. The deceased was then carried to a hospital at Nagrota Bagwan, where she was declared ˜brought dead, around 11.30 A.M. by the doctor. Intimation of the death was given to one Sher Singh, a maternal uncle of the deceased, who had his shop at Nagrota Bagwan where the deceased was taken for treatment. Said Sher Singh informed the parents of the deceased. PW -2 Bidhi Chand, father of the deceased, reached the place of the respondents, the same evening. On the way, he went to the Police Post and informed the police about the death of his daughter. Police also reached the spot the same evening around 9 PM. On 21.2.1992, the police recorded the statement of PW -2 Bidhi Chand, under Section 154 Cr. P.C. Inquest was conducted. The dead body was sent to Zonal Hospital, Dharamsala, where postmortem examination was conducted by PW -1 Dr. B.C. Khanna. Viscera were sent to the Chemical Examiner, who noticed aluminium phosphide therein. On receipt of the report of the Chemical Examiner, PW -1 Dr. B.C. Khanna gave the opinion that the cause of death was poisoning by aluminium phosphide. On completion of the investigation, police challaned all the three respondents.