GURUCHARAN KUMAR & ORS. Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant No. 3 Praveen Kumar is the husband of deceased Smt. Geetu while the appellant No. 1 Gurucharan Kumar and appellant No. 2 Smt. Sudesh are the father-in-law and mother-in-law of the deceased.

(2.) The deceased was married to the appellant (accused) No. 3 on 28.4.1990 and on 13.7.1990 (i.e. within 3 months from the date of the marriage) she committed suicide in the house of the accused-appellants. According to the prosecution before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by the appellants in connection with the demand for a car in dowry. They maltreated her and taunted for bringing insufficient dowry and pressurised her to press her parents to give a car to them owing to which she took the extreme step to commit suicide by hanging herself. Thus, according to the prosecution they have abetted the commission of suicide by the deceased and also committed dowry death.

(3.) The learned trial Court framed the charge of the offences Under Sections 306 (abetment of suicide) & 304-B (causing dowry death) Indian Penal Code against the appellants. They pleaded not guilty and claimed trial. In the trial, prosecution examined ten witnesses, who are PW 1 Ved Prakash (father of the deceased) PW 2 Hem Raj, PW 3 Anju Ahuja (sister of the deceased), PW 4 Smt. Yashoda (mother of the deceased), PW 5 Gulshan Vinayak, PW 6 Sudarshan Kumar, PW 7 Badri Prasad, PW 8 Dr. K.N. Markande, PW 9 Pala Ram and PW 10 Megh Chand.