TULSI PRASAD MEHTA Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard the parties.

(2.) The appellant has preferred this appeal being aggrieved by the Judgment of conviction dtd. 27/2/2006 and Order of sentence dtd. 28/2/2006 passed by the learned 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Hazaribagh, in Sessions Trial No. 7 of 2001 by which the learned trial court has held the appellant guilty for the offence punishable under Ss. 328, 498A of the Indian Penal Code and under Sec. 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act and sentenced him to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for five years and fine with default clause for the offence punishable under Sec. 328 of the Indian Penal Code, Rigorous Imprisonment for three years and fine with default clause for the offence punishable under Sec. 498 A of the Indian Penal Code and Rigorous Imprisonment for six months with fine and default clause for the offence punishable under Sec. 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act respectively.

(3.) The case of the prosecution as unfolded in the fardbeyan of the informant in brief is that the informant married the appellant-accused. Ten days before the date of occurrence, from her paternal house she reached her matrimonial house at Padma in the District of Hazaribagh. Demand of Rs.20,000.00 was made by the in-laws of the informant. When the informant expressed her inability to meet the said demand as her father is a poor farmer, the appellant-accused person along with the co-accused persons directed the informant to get out of their house and threatened that otherwise she will be killed. Thereafter, the informant was assaulted but the informant did not go outside but remained inside the house. On 5/2/1998, at about 10:00 A.M., the appellant-accused person along with the co-accused persons who have been acquitted, assaulted the informant and during the course of assault, two co-accused persons caught hold of the informant and the appellant-accused person forcibly administered some liquid on the guise of the same to be medicine. It is alleged by the informant that the liquid thus forcibly administered to her was poison. After being administered the liquid, the informant became senseless. The father of the informant upon getting the information about the incident reached her matrimonial house and brought the informant to hospital for treatment. After regaining sense, the police recorded fardbeyan of the informant on 6/2/1998 at Sadar Hospital, Hazaribagh where she was undergoing the treatment. It is the further case of the informant that because of non-fulfillment of demand of dowry, the in-laws of the informant used to assault her and a Panchayati was also convened but the same did not yield any result.