BIPIN BIHARI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned counsel for the appellant and learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.

(2.) The present appeal has been preferred for setting aside the judgment of acquittal dtd. 11/9/2024 (hereinafter referred to as the 'impugned judgment') passed by the learned 1 st Additional Sessions Judge, Samastipur (hereinafter referred to as the 'learned trial court') in Sessions Trial No. 60 of 2024 arising out of Khanpur P.S. Case No. 173 of 2022. By the impugned judgment, the respondent nos. 2 and 5 have been acquitted of the charges punishable under Ss. 498A, 304B/34, 201, 364/34 of the Indian Penal Code (in short 'IPC') and Sec. of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

(3.) The prosecution case is based on the written application of the informant/appellant (PW-1). In his written application, he has stated that marriage of his daughter was solemnised with Ashish Kumar Jha (respondent no.2) on 11/12/2019. At the time of marriage, the informant had gifted cash, ornaments, clothes and many other items to his in-law. Four days after the marriage, informant's daughter went to her sasural where her in-laws started demanding bullet motorcycle and on protest they started torturing her. This was informed to the informant by her daughter on which the informant and his son used to go there but due to shortage of fund, he was not able to fulfill the demand of bullet motorcycle. Her daughter spent three months in her in-laws house anyhow and she used to ask the informant to take her from in-laws house otherwise they can kill her. The informant brought his daughter to his house for some days thereafter her daughter again went to her in-laws house but their behaviour remained the same. Due to cruel behaviour of her in- laws, the informant brought her daughter to his house on 1 st July, 2022 and her daughter disclosed her that her in-laws many times attempted to kill her but she was saved by the neighbours on which the informant called his son-in-law Ashish Kumar Jha who came to his house on 3/7/2022 where he accepted his mistake and assured that no untoward occurrence would occur in future with his daughter and also assured to take informant's daughter to his house after persuading his mother and brother. Then the informant asked his son-in-law to keep his daughter in the room provided in his office on which his son-in-law went from there. On 5/7/2022, in conspiracy with his mother, brother and sister informant's son-in-law came to his house on bullet motorcycle and asked his daughter to come with him which was informed to the informant then he arrived at his house and after much persuasion informant allowed his son-in-law to take his daughter to his house. At the time of leaving the house, informant's daughter was wearing some ornaments and was having a mobile of SIM No. 7070605432. After one hour, informant's wife made a call on her daughter's mobile on which she replied that she was brought to the residence at Madhuri Chowk and from there she was being asked to go to Korbaddha whereafter mobile of his daughter became switched off. Thereafter, the informant along with his son went to his son-in-laws quarter at Madhuri Chowk where he was informed that he is not living in the room for last one month and thereafter he came to know that his son-in-law and daughter were seen at Angar Ghat Chowk going towards Nathudwar on bullet motorcycle. The informant and his son went there but no one was there in the house, the informant made a call to his son-in-law but he did not reply satisfactorily and since then informant was searching his daughter but no trace of his daughter could be found and now his son-in-law is also not responding to his phone calls. The informant inquired from neighbours at Nathudwar where he came to know that in the night of 5/7/2022, his daughter was killed by her in-laws and disappeared the dead body with an intention to conceal the evidence. The informant raised suspicion that due to non-fulfilling the demand of bullet motorcycle, his daughter was killed by his son-in-law and in-laws under a conspiracy and disappeared the dead body.