KEDAR MANDAL Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. Kaushal Kishore Mishra, learned counsel appearing for the appellants and Mr. S.K. Srivastava, learned A.P.P. appearing for the State.

(2.) Appellants of both the criminal appeals have challenged the judgment of conviction dtd. 21/6/2006 and order of sentence dtd. 22/6/2006 passed by learned 5th Additional Sessions Judge (F.T.C.), Jamtara in Sessions Case No. 35 of 2005 / 98 of 2003,whereby and whereunder, the appellants have been held guilty for the offence under Ss. 304B / 34 of the I.P.C. and sentenced to undergo R.I. for seven years.

(3.) The factual matrix giving rise to these appeals is that daughter of the informant namely, Chameli Devi (deceased) was married with the one Deo Narayan Mondal (appellant in Cr.A.(S.J.) No. 1308/2006) in the year 1999 in accordance with Hindu rites and customs. It is alleged that at the time of marriage, as per capacity, dowry was given and informant's daughter went to her matrimonial home and started discharging her matrimonial obligations and also gave birth to female child. After birth of female child, a demand of Rs.5,000.00 was raised from her as an additional dowry, which could not be fulfilled, due to poverty of informant. As a result of which, the deceased was subjected to cruelty and torture by all the accused persons and ousted from matrimonial home several times. It is alleged that ultimately on 1/6/2002 at about 5:00 PM a message was given to the informant that his daughter has been admitted at Narayanpur Hospital, due to diarrhoea. The informant went to said Hospital, but did not find his daughter and when he went to her matrimonial home, where his daughter dead body was lying on a cot and there was black ligature mark on her neck. Her in-laws were absconding from the house.