Gujarat High Court
State Of Gujarat vs Gaurangkumar Mathurbhai Leuva on 5 July, 2025
Author: Vaibhavi D. Nanavati
Bench: Vaibhavi D. Nanavati
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.A/1283/1999 JUDGMENT DATED: 05/07/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1283 of 1999
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE VAIBHAVI D. NANAVATI
and
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D. M. VYAS
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Approved for Reporting Yes No
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STATE OF GUJARAT
Versus
GAURANGKUMAR MATHURBHAI LEUVA & ORS.
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Appearance:
PUBLIC PROSECUTOR for the Appellant(s) No. 1
VISHAL K ANANDJIWALA(7798) for the Opponent(s)/Respondent(s) No.
1,2,3,4,5
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MS. JUSTICE VAIBHAVI D. NANAVATI
and
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D. M. VYAS
Date : 05/07/2025
ORAL JUDGMENT
(PER : HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D. M. VYAS)
1. By this appeal, arises out of the judgment dated 07/10/1999 passed in Sessions Case No.27 of 1998 on the file of the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Ahmedabad (Rural) at Gandhinagar whereby the respondents-accused were acquitted of the charges for the offences punishable under Sections 304(B), 306, 498(A) read with Sections 34 and 114 of Page 1 of 14 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Mon Jul 07 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 07 23:03:21 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1283/1999 JUDGMENT DATED: 05/07/2025 undefined the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short 'the IPC').
2. It is the case of the prosecution that the deceased by name Anjuben (herein after referred to as 'the deceased') is the legally wedded wife of A-1. Their marriage was solemnized on 23/02/1996. A-2 is the brother-in-law, A-3 is the father-in-law, A-4 is the mother-in law and A-5 is the sister- in-law of the deceased. The deceased resided in joint family in Sector-22 at Gandhinagar. It is stated that after the marriage, all the accused have subjected her to cruelty by harassing her and demanded the dowry. It is further stated that the deceased informed to her parents and uncle about the demand of dowry and harassment.
2.1. It is further stated that on 08/01/1998, at about 9:45 a.m., the deceased talked with her father about the harassment. Thereafter, the deceased committed the suicide in the house of the accused.
3. After registration of the complaint by the complainant Kamleshbhai Parmar, the father of the deceased, investigation was carried out and on completion of the investigation, charge Page 2 of 14 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Mon Jul 07 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 07 23:03:21 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1283/1999 JUDGMENT DATED: 05/07/2025 undefined sheet was filed before the concerned magistrate court. As the case was exclusively triable by the learned sessions division, the same was made over to the Additional Sessions Judge, Ahmedabad (Rural) at Gandhinagar.
4. In the trial court, the charges for the aforesaid offences were framed against the accused. The accused denied the charges and claimed to be tried.
5. The prosecution has examined the witnesses and produced the ocular evidence and also filed the documentary evidence to prove the charges against the accused.
6. After completion of the prosecution evidence, further statements of the accused under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure were recorded with regard to incriminating circumstances made in the evidences rendered by the prosecution and they have denied it.
7. The defense side also examined the defense witnesses and produced the documentary evidences in form of photographs of happy marriage life of the deceased with the Page 3 of 14 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Mon Jul 07 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 07 23:03:21 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1283/1999 JUDGMENT DATED: 05/07/2025 undefined accused.
8. At the end of the trial, after considering the evidence on record, the trial court found the accused not guilty and acquitted them of the said charges.
9. Feeling aggrieved by the said judgment of acquittal, the State has preferred the present appeal challenging the legality and validity of the impugned judgment of acquittal.
10. When the appeal come up for hearing, we have heard learned APP Mr. Niraj Sharma for the appellant-State and learned advocate Mr.Vishal k. Aanandjiwala for the respondents-accused on the facts as well as provisions of law.
11. Learned APP submitted at length the facts of the charges levelled against the accused, the marriage span of the deceased and referred the ocular and documentary evidences produced by the prosecution.
12. Learned APP vehemently argued that the deceased committed the suicide within a period of seven years and the Page 4 of 14 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Mon Jul 07 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 07 23:03:21 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1283/1999 JUDGMENT DATED: 05/07/2025 undefined learned trial court have to consider the provisions of Section 113(B) of the Indian Evidence Act. The learned APP further referred to the ocular evidence of father, mother and uncle of the deceased and vehemently argued that the prosecution has able to prove the facts of the cruelty and further referred the ocular evidence of all three witnesses and submitted that the prosecution has able to prove the demand of dowry.
13. Learned APP submitted at length the fact of medical evidence and vehemently argued that the deceased committed the suicide and it is an unnatural death of the deceased and further submitted the fact of FSL analysis report of saree and vehemently argued that the deceased hanged on fan with saree. It is further submitted that as per the opinion of FSL, the saree was bearing the weight of 90 kg. It is further submitted that conduct of the accused persons are admissible in evidence and vehemently argued that A-3 mislead the doctor and not disclosed the correct fact that she has committed suicide by hanging.
14. Learned APP further submitted that the reasons recorded in the impugned judgment while acquitting the Page 5 of 14 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Mon Jul 07 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 07 23:03:21 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1283/1999 JUDGMENT DATED: 05/07/2025 undefined accused are improper and unwarranted to the facts of the case and the impugned judgment is required to be quashed and set aside and lastly prayed to allow this appeal.
15. Pre-pondra, learned advocate for the respondents accused submitted at length the facts and provisions of law.
16. Learned advocate for the respondents accused submitted that all three witnesses i.e. father, mother and uncle of the deceased are interested witnesses and no any independent witness supported the prosecution case.
17. Learned advocate for the respondents accused referred the ocular evidence of three important witnesses and vehemently argued that there are major contradictions, omissions in the evidence. It is further submitted that all the major contradictions and omissions are proved in the deposition of the Investigation Officer.
18. Learned advocate for the respondents accused further submitted that the defense side also examined the witnesses and produced the photographs and proved the fact of happy Page 6 of 14 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Mon Jul 07 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 07 23:03:21 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1283/1999 JUDGMENT DATED: 05/07/2025 undefined marriage life of the deceased.
19. Learned advocate of respondents accused further submitted the fact that the deceased herself said to A-1, husband not visit to her parental home. Learned advocate for the respondents accused further submitted that the learned trial court, after appreciating the evidence, recorded the findings which are just and proper and not require any interference of this Court in this appeal.
20. The marital relationship between A-1 and the deceased is not in dispute. Their marriage was solemnized on 23/02/1996. The fact that the deceased committed suicide on 08/01/1998 is also not in controversy. Therefore, admittedly, her suicidal death took place within seven years of her marriage. It is the case of the prosecution that the accused have subjected her to cruelty and harassed her and unable to bear the said harassment that she committed suicide.
21. It is well settled law that in order to prove the case under Section 304(B) of the Indian Penal Code, relating to a Page 7 of 14 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Mon Jul 07 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 07 23:03:21 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1283/1999 JUDGMENT DATED: 05/07/2025 undefined dowry death, it must be shown that (1) the female person died either because of burn injuries or any bodily injuries or under unnatural circumstances, (2) the said death must be within seven years of marriage and (3) soon before her death, it must be shown that she was harassed for dowry or in connection with any demand for dowry.
22. In the instant case, although it is the specific case of the prosecution that the accused have harassed the deceased and subjected her to mental and physical cruelty and demanded dowry from her, considering the serious allegations against the accused and considering the ocular evidence of material witnesses who are examined as PW-1, PW-3 and PW-4 who are father, mother and maternal uncle of the deceased i.e. the evidence of three material witnesses, there are major contradictions and omissions in the oral evidence and all the contradictions and omissions are proved during the deposition of the Investigation Officer, PW-8.
23. The complainant stated the fact in his ocular evidence that on an unfortunate day when the deceased committed Page 8 of 14 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Mon Jul 07 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 07 23:03:21 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1283/1999 JUDGMENT DATED: 05/07/2025 undefined suicide, before the incident, she called him. The said important aspect during the deposition not disclosed any telephone number and no investigation on this important fact.
24. It is the duty of the prosecution to prove the the fact that she was subjected to any harassment or cruelty for or in connection with the dowry as required under the law to prove the offences under Section 304(B) and 498(A) of the Indian Penal Code. The necessary legal requirement to prove the said offences are not established in this case. The major contradictions and omissions in the material witnesses are fatal to the root of the prosecution case.
25. At the outset, it is required to be noted that the principles which would govern and regulate the hearing of appeal by this Court against an order of acquittal passed by the trial Court, have been very succinctly explained by the Apex Court in a catena of decisions. In the case of M.S. Narayana Menon @ Mani Vs. State of Kerala & Anr., (2006) 6 S.C.C. 39, the Apex Court has narrated the powers of High Court in appeal against the order of acquittal. In Paragraph-54 of the said decision, the Apex Court has Page 9 of 14 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Mon Jul 07 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 07 23:03:21 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1283/1999 JUDGMENT DATED: 05/07/2025 undefined observed as under:
"54. In any event the High Court entertained an appeal treating to be an appeal against acquittal, it was in fact exercising the revisional jurisdiction. Even while exercising an appellate power against a judgment of acquittal, the High Court should have borne in mind the well-settled principles of law that where two view are possible, the appellate Court should not interfere with the finding of acquittal recorded by the Court below."
25.1. Further, in the case of Chandrappa Vs. State of Karnataka, (2007) 4 S.C.C. 415, the Apex Court has laid down the following principle;
"42. From the above decisions, in our considered view, the following general principles regarding powers of the appellate Court while dealing with an appeal against an order of acquittal emerge:
[1] An appellate Court has full power to review, re- appreciate and reconsider the evidence upon which the order of acquittal is founded.
[2] The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 puts no limitation, restriction or condition on exercise of such power and an appellate Court on the evidence before it may reach its own conclusion, both on questions of fact and of law.
[3] Various expressions, such as, "substantial and compelling reasons", "good and sufficient grounds", "very strong circumstances", "distorted conclusions", "glaring mistakes", etc. are not intended to curtain extensive powers of an appellate Court in an appeal against acquittal. Such phraseologies are more in the Page 10 of 14 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Mon Jul 07 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 07 23:03:21 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1283/1999 JUDGMENT DATED: 05/07/2025 undefined nature of "flourishes of language" to emphasis the reluctance of an appellate Court to interfere with acquittal than to curtail the power of the Court to review the evidence and to come to its own conclusion.
[4] An appellate Court, however, must bear in mind that in case of acquittal there is double presumption in favour of the accused. Firstly, the presumption of innocence is available to him under the fundamental principle of criminal jurisprudence that every person shall be presumed to be innocent unless he is proved guilty by a competent Court of law. Secondly, the accused having secured his acquittal, the presumption of his innocence is further reinforced, reaffirmed and strengthened by the trial Court.
[5] If two reasonable conclusions are possible on the basis of the evidence on record, the appellate Court should not disturb the finding of acquittal recorded by the trial Court."
25.2. In the case of State of Goa V. Sanjay Thakran & Anr., (2007) 3 S.C.C. 75, the Apex Court reiterated the powers of the High Court in such cases. In Paragraph-16 of the said decision, the Court observed as under;
"16. From the aforesaid decisions, it is apparent that while exercising the powers in appeal against the order of acquittal the Court of appeal would not ordinarily interfere with the order of acquittal unless the approach of the lower Court is vitiated by some manifest illegality and the conclusion arrived at would not be arrived at by any reasonable person and, therefore, the decision is to be characterized as perverse. Merely because two views are possible, the Court of appeal would not take the view which would upset the judgment delivered by the Court below. However, the appellate Court has a power to Page 11 of 14 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Mon Jul 07 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 07 23:03:21 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1283/1999 JUDGMENT DATED: 05/07/2025 undefined review the evidence if it is of the view that the conclusion arrived at by the Court below is perverse and the Court has committed a manifest error of law and ignored the material evidence on record. A duty is cast upon the appellate Court, in such circumstances, to re- appreciate the evidence to arrive to a just decision on the basis of material placed on record to find out whether any of the accused is connected with the commission of the crime he is charged with."
25.3. Similar principle has been laid down by the Apex Court in the cases of State of Uttar Pradesh Vs. Ram Veer Singh & Ors, 2007 A.I.R. S.C.W. 5553 and in Girja Prasad (Dead) by LRs Vs. State of MP reported in 2007 A.I.R. S.C.W. 5589. Thus, the powers, which this Court may exercise against an order of acquittal, are well settled. 25.4. It is also a settled legal position that in acquittal appeal, the appellate Court is not required to re-write the judgment or to give fresh reasonings, when the reasons assigned by the Court below are found to be just and proper. Such principle is laid down by the Apex Court in the case of State of Karnataka Vs. Hemareddy reported in AIR 1981 S.C. 1417, wherein, it is held as under:
"... This Court has observed in Girija Nandini Devi V. Bigendra Nandini Chaudhary (1967)1 SCR 93: (AIR 1967 Page 12 of 14 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Mon Jul 07 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 07 23:03:21 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1283/1999 JUDGMENT DATED: 05/07/2025 undefined SC 1124) that it is not the duty of the appellate Court when it agrees with the view of the trial Court on the evidence to repeat the narration of the evidence or to reiterate the reasons given by the trial Court expression of general agreement with the reasons given by the Court the decision of which is under appeal, will ordinarily suffice."
26. Considering the impugned judgment and order of the learned trial Court and the aforesaid reasoning and bearing in mind the statutory provisions, as well as the judgments of the Hon'ble Apex Court, this Court is of the considered opinion that the present appeal does not warrant any interference in the impugned judgment and order passed by the learned trial Court. We find that the findings recorded by the learned trial Court are absolutely just and proper and in recording the said findings, no illegality and infirmity has been committed by it. We are therefore, in complete agreement with the findings and ultimate conclusion recorded by the learned trial Court and there is no reasons to interfere with the same.
27. The learned trial court deeply scrutinized the prosecution evidence and thereafter recorded the findings which are just, proper and legal.
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NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1283/1999 JUDGMENT DATED: 05/07/2025 undefined
28. The present appeal of the State is accordingly dismissed. Bail bond, if any, shall stand cancelled.
29. Record and proceedings be sent back forthwith to the concerned court.
(VAIBHAVI D. NANAVATI,J) (D. M. VYAS, J) ILA Page 14 of 14 Uploaded by PATEL ILA KANTIBHAI(HC00194) on Mon Jul 07 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 07 23:03:21 IST 2025