PARAS YADAV Vs. THE STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal has been preferred by the appellant against the judgment dated 6.10.05 by which the learned Sessions Judge has convicted the appellant -accused in ST No. 314 of 1995 under Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code and sentence him on 7.10.05 to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for 10 years.

(2.) Feeling aggrieved by the said conviction and sentence passed by the learned Trial court, this appeal has been preferred by the appellant before this Court.

(3.) In nutshell, the prosecution case is that Saraswati Devi, the daughter of the informant Ramgovind Singh was married with the accused -appellant, Paras Yadav at about five years. At the time of the incident there was no child out of the said wedlock. The husband of the other family members used to abuse and assault the deceased for the dowry. It was further stated that in the month of Magh, she was brutally assaulted and she was asked to leave his house and she went to the house of the Chandrika Yadav and Baldeo Yadav of village- Sigsiga Kalan. Thereafter, the matter was settled by the intervention of the persons named above and the deceased Saraswati Devi went to her matrimonial house. The accused -appellant Paras Yadav demanded a Radio and Buffalo in dowry when Ram Govind Singh , the father of the deceased went to the village- Sigsiga Kalan along with Basudeo Yadav, Shiv Pujan Yadav etc. Thereafter, the deceased, Saraswati Devi came to her Parental house and stayed for sometime. When she left there for her matrimonial house along with Paras Yadav, the appellant demanded cycle from them, which was given to him and he also reiterated his demand in dowry for Buffalo and Radio. He was assured by Ram Govind Singh, the father of the deceased, that the said demand would be fulfilled during the Dashara days. On 3.9.94, he received message that her daughter is missing from the matrimonial house and he went to the village on the next day i.e. 4.9.94 and it was brought to his notice that she was assaulted by the accused appellant on 2.9.94 and since then, she is missing. It is also transpired from the record that the dead body of the deceased was recovered on 4.9.94 from a nearby well and it was found that the legs of the deceased were tied up with ropes and body was on the water. It is also alleged that the local villagers Prem Yadav, Bhajan Yadav, Dinesh Yadav, Baldeo Yadav and Chandradeo Yadav etc. had heard hue and cry of the deceased in the night of 2.9.94 and she was crying why she is being tied up and why she is being assaulted. On the basis of the said information to the police by Ramgovind Yadav, the father of the deceased and the informant of this Case, the case was registered and the investigation was conducted by the police. After completion of the investigation, the chargesheet was submitted before the trial court.