Sitaram Bherulal Verma vs The State Of Mah. Thr. Its Pso ...
2017 Latest Caselaw 2519 Bom

Judgment

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY,
           NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR

               CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.509 OF 2003

Sitaram s/o Bherulal Verma,
Aged about 61 years,
Occupation : Service,
Resident of Amravati.                                  ..... Appellant.

                                ::   VERSUS   ::

The State of Maharashtra,
Through its Police Station
Rajapeth, Amravati.                               ..... Respondent.

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          Shri P.R. Agrawal, Counsel for the Appellant.
          Shri N.R. Patil, Addll.P.P. for the Respondent/State.
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                              CORAM : N.W. SAMBRE, J.

                              DATE     : MAY 12, 2017.



ORAL JUDGMENT

1. The appeal is by original accused No.1 in

Sessions Trial No.376 of 1997 questioning the legality

and validity of judgment and order of conviction

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delivered on 17.7.2003 by learned IInd Additional

Sessions Judge, Amravati thereby convicting

appellant/accused No.1 for an offence punishable under

Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing

him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one year and to

pay fine of Rs.1,000/-, in default, rigorous imprisonment

for one month.

2. The facts, necessary for deciding the appeal,

are as under:

PW9 the Police Sub Inspector Shri Sakhahari

Gadade, attached with the Rajapeth Police Station as on

18.2.1994, who is examined at Exhibit 61, received an

information from one Sudhir Joshi that at Balaji Plots a

lady by name Chanda sustained burns. After taking

station diary entry, investigation was taken over by him

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and visited the spot along with panchas. The present

appellant/accused was residing as a tenant in the said

premises and noticed smell of kerosene and found a lady

lying there in a completely burned condition. He after

sending the said lady to the hospital, started drawing

seizure panchanama Exhibit 43 and seized burned

pieces of clothes, two match sticks, a match-box, and a

kerosene tin. According to him, after the dying

declaration of the said lady, reached to the police

station on 19.2.1994. He registered a crime being Crime

No.69 of 1994 for the offence under Section 498-A read

with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and

accordingly proved F.I.R. Exhibit 62. After the death of

said lady, he added Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code

to the crime, in question. The inquest panchanama

Exhibit 46 was also proved. He sent muddemal property

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for chemical analysis vide Exhibit 66. He has also stated

that on 21.2.1994 he recorded statement of Sangita

Gagendra Verma, daughter of the appellant/accused

before which he arrested Sitaram, appellant/accused on

19.2.1994. Thereafter, he filed the charge-sheet under

Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and

learned Judge of the Court below framed the charge

against the appellant/accused.

3. In support of the prosecution case the

prosecution witnesses are examined namely PW1

informant Sudhir Joshi at Exhibit 40, PW2 neighbour

Mukul Kaloti at Exhibit 42, PW3 a pancha witness

Satyanarayan Verma at Exhibit 45, PW4 Motilal, the

father of deceased Chanda at Exhibit 47, PW5

Purushottam, the brother of deceased Chanda at

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Exhibit 50, PW6 Sangita, the daughter of deceased

Chanda at Exhibit 52, PW7 learned Special Judicial

Magistrate Prabhakar Kalambe at Exhibit 53, PW8 Dr.

Kiran Wathodkar on postmortem report at Exhibit 59,

and PW10 Dr. Pushpa Sadhawani, who certified health

of deceased Chanda before and after recording dying

declaration, at Exhibit 72.

4. Learned Judge of the Court below, after

appreciating the evidences, acquitted all the accused in

all seven in numbers of the offence punishable under

Section 306 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal

Code. However, learned Judge of the Court below

convicted respondent No.1 appellant/accused for an

offence punishable under Section 498-A read with

Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. As such, this

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appeal.

5. According to learned counsel for the

appellant, learned Judge of the Court below has failed

to appreciate the evidences of both i.e. neighbour and

other blood relations as there is no demonstration that

there was continuous act of cruelty practised by the

appellant/accused on deceased Chanda. He would

submit that the marriage between the appellant/accused

and the victim was solemnized more than 20 years back

and according to him, no willful conduct of harassment

or cruelty as contemplated under Section 498-A of the

Indian Penal Code could be inferred and as such

learned counsel has sought acquittal.

6. Per contra, learned Additional Public

Prosecutor Shri N.R. Patil for the respondent/State

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supports the judgment and order passed by learned IInd

Second Additional Sessions Judge, Amravati as

according to him, the conviction is based on cogent

evidences and has sought dismissal of the appeal.

7. On an issue of conviction for the offence

punishable under Section 498-A of the Indian Penal

Code as required to be appreciated is, the object with

which the said statutory provision is inserted in the

statute book. The foremost and important object

appears to be to extend protection to the weaker'

spouse. It is then to be noted from the Scheme of

Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code that willful

conduct of an accused qua driving in a woman or to

drag her by such of their conducts to commit suicide by

practising cruelty is required to be demonstrated. The

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harassment by the husband or his relatives to a weaker

spouse to such an extent to drive her to commit suicide

has to be established by various continuing acts.

8. In the aforesaid background, the evidences of

each of witnesses are required to be scrutinized.

9. Complainant Sudhir Joshi, pursuant to chart

at Exhibit 25 framed on 15.6.2002, came to be examined

at Exhibit 40. However, nothing incriminating against

the appellant/accused could be noticed. PW2 land

owner Mukul Kaloti is examined and has identified the

accused persons. In his cross-examination he stated

about cordial relations between deceased Chanda and

the present appellant/accused.

10. PW3 Satyanarayan Verma is examined at

Exhibit 45 on inquest panchanama. PW4 Motilal, the

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father of deceased Chanda is examined at Exhibit 47.

According to him, the marriage was solemnized

sometime in the year 1971. He narrated about family

tree of the appellant/accused. According to him, the

present appellant/accused, who was serving in malaria

department and was separated in mes from his real

brother and sister who are accused herein used to

quarrel with deceased Chanda on account of money.

According to him, he intended to purchase a plot and he

sought help from his father-in-law. According to him,

the appellant/accused used to beat his daughter. In

cross-examination, he was unable to narrate the exact

date of the marriage which was sometime in the year

1976. He in categorical terms admitted that he never

received any letter from deceased Chanda either about

demand of money or any harassment meted out to her.

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Exhibits 48 and 49 are the letters in his handwriting.

However, he was not in a position to narrate any

specific incident of demand of amount or continuous

harassment meted out to his daughter deceased

Chanda. Certain omissions are brought on record. PW5

Purushottam Varma, brother of deceased Chanda, is

examined at Exhibit 50 and narrates about writing a

letter to his sister. He narrates that he does not know

whether present appellant/accused was retired from the

service. He then narrates once in three years he used to

visit his sister. He in vague terms stated about quarrel

between the appellant/accused and deceased Chanda

and further stated that he was abused by the

appellant/accused. He also visited his sister in the

absence of the appellant/accused, however he could not

narrate any specific instance along with complete

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details as regards cruelty or harassment practised. PW6

Sangita, the daughter of the appellant/accused has

narrated that there were no quarrels before her

marriage and she was not aware of the position after

her marriage. She has deposed about quarrelsome

nature of the appellant/accused and an occasion

without any specification when the appellant/accused

tried to set her mother on fire.

11. Apart from above, evidences of witnesses PW4

Motilal, father of deceased Chanda, PW5 Purushottam,

the brother of deceased Chanda, and PW6 Sangita, the

daughter of deceased Chanda do not in clear terms

speak of any willful conduct of the appellant/accused so

as to drive Chanda to commit suicide, for the reason of

alleged demand of amount. The aspect of cruelty is also

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not proved by the evidences of PW4 Motilal, father of

deceased Chanda and PW5 Purushottam, the brother of

deceased Chanda. This Court from the evidences of

witnesses is unable to notice that the degree of

harassment was such that deceased Chanda was

required to commit suicide. Neither any threat from the

appellant/accused nor any physical harassment is

brought on record. The complainant and the landowner

have rather supported the case of the defence that

relation between deceased Chanda and the

appellant/accused was cordial. There are no chain of

events narrated to infer that there was a continuous

harassment on the part of the appellant/accused to

deceased Chanda so as to drag her to commit suicide. It

is then to be noted that in the dying declaration she has

named other accused persons than the appellant/accused

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equally responsible for her act of self elimination (suicide).

12. The respondent/State has not preferred any

appeal against acquittal of such accused persons. In the

dying declaration deceased Chanda has named all accused

persons i.e. appellant/accused, his brothers, their wives as

persons responsible for her suicide when nobody was present

in the house. She has rather named the accused while

answering to question No.7 as according to her, her character

was questioned by appellant/accused. The attributions in the

dying declaration are not restricted only to the

appellant/accused but has claimed all the accused persons

though the other accused persons are separated in mess.

13. In the aforesaid background, in my opinion, the

conviction as is ordered is not sustainable. The appeal as

such deserves to be allowed. Hence, this Court proceed to

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pass the following order :

ORDER

1. Judgment and order dated 17.7.2003, passed by

learned IInd Additional Sessions Judge, Amravati,

in Sessions Trial No.376 of 1997, is hereby set aside

and appellant/accused is acquitted of the offence

punishable under Section 498-A of the Indian

Penal Code.

2. The appellant/accused be set free forthwith, if

not required in any other offence.

JUDGE

!! BRW !!

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