PRAKASH JHA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The solitary appellant Prakash Jha was charged with committing offence under sections 304B/34 IPC by learned Presiding Officer, Fast Track Court V, Katihar for being tried in S.T. No. 315 of 2005 and by judgment dated 3rd May, 2007, was held guilty of committing the offence and was directed to suffer RI for seven years.

(2.) Some of the undisputed facts are that the deceased Chanda Devi, who happened to be the daughter of the informant Vijay Kant Mishra (P.W. 5), was married to the appellant three years prior to the date of occurrence and she had a daughter aged about 11 months. It was alleged that the accused was assaulting the deceased as she was not getting for them a cow, cash and a colour television in dowry. It is stated that after Chhath festival in the year 2004, this appellant came to the house of the informant (P.W. 5) where the deceased was then residing and took her after Bidai. Shambhu Kumar Mishra (P.W. 1) had gone to meet Chanda Devi at her sasural two three days prior to the occurrence and she had complained to P.W. 1 about the ill treatment by way of assaulting her.

(3.) On 11.12.2004 at about 11 A.M. the informant received a telephonic message regarding the death of his daughter and he along with his family members went to the house of the appellant to find that the appellant had murdered Chanda Devi after having assaulted her and finally strangulated her to death with the help of other family members, like, Raghunath Jha alias Tunna Jha, Laxmi Jha and Kare Jha, who were also demanding a television, cow and cash as dowry and used also to threaten that the consequences shall be bad if the demands were not met. The informant believed that the deceased had been murdered on that account.