URMILA DEVI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) We have heard Mr. Rajesh Kumar Singh, the learned Senior Advocate for the appellants and Mr. Abhimanyu Sharma for the State.

(2.) The appellants, who are the mother-in-law, husband, sister-in-law and brother-in-law of the deceased respectively, have been convicted under Ss. 302/498(A) of Indian Penal Code and Sec. 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act by judgment dtd. 3/7/2019, passed by the learned 2nd Addl. Sessions Judge, Bhagalpur and by order dtd. 8/7/2019, they have been sentenced to undergo R.I. for life and to pay a fine of Rs.10,000.00 each for the offence under Sec. 302 of Indian Penal Code; S.I. for one year and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000.00 each for the offence under Sec. 498(A) of the Indian Penal Code and S.I. for one year and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000.00 each for the offence under Sec. 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. In default of payment of fine, the appellants have further been sentenced to undergo S.I. for three months. All the sentences have been ordered to run concurrently.

(3.) The appellants claim innocence and have urged that merely because the deceased (Annu Devi) died in the house, the prosecution has jumped to the conclusion that she has been killed.