Uttarakhand High Court
Smt. Bhuvenshwari vs State Of Uttarakhand And Another on 22 March, 2021
Reserved Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND
AT NAINITAL
Criminal Misc. Application (C-482) No. 1606 of 2019
Smt. Bhuvenshwari .....Applicant
Versus
State of Uttarakhand and another ......Respondents
Mr. M.S. Pal, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Mr. Amit Kapri, learned
counsel for the applicant.
Mrs. Mamta Joshi, learned Brief Holder for the State.
Mr. Manoj Bhatt, learned counsel for the second respondent.
Judgment Reserved: 16.03.2021
Judgment Delivered: 22.03.2021
Hon'ble N.S. Dhanik, J.
By means of this application under
Section 482 Cr.P.C., applicant has prayed for
quashing the charge-sheet and summoning order
dated 15.07.2019 passed by learned Chief
Judicial Magistrate, Pithoragarh in Criminal Case
No. 536 of 2019, "State vs. Bhuvneshwari Devi",
under Section 304-B & 498-A of IPC, registered at
P.S. Kotwali Pithoragarh, District Pithoragarh.
2. Facts, in brief, are that on 15.04.2019
respondent no. 2 (Krishnand Bhatt) lodged an
F.I.R. against the husband of the deceased
stating therein that on 15.04.2019 the son-in-law
of the respondent no. 2 informed him that the
daughter of the respondent no. 2 had consumed
the tablet of Disprin and thereafter became faint.
She was brought to the hospital where the
Doctors declared her dead. In the FIR, it is also
stated that the respondent no. 2 had
apprehension that the death of his daughter is
unnatural because the behavior of the mother-in-
law with the deceased was not good and the
statement of the husband of the deceased was
also contradictory.
3. Pursuant to the FIR lodged by the
respondent no. 2, investigation was made and
police submitted the charge-sheet against the
husband and mother-in-law of the deceased and
during the investigation, it was revealed that the
co-accused, namely, Naveen Kapri (husband of
the deceased) committed suicide on 17.04.2019.
Thereafter, the Court below has summoned the
applicant to face trial for the aforementioned
offences.
4. Learned Senior Counsel for the
applicant submits that the only allegation against
the applicant is that her behavior was not normal
with the deceased but there is no allegation
regarding dowry demand or any kind of
harassment. He further submits that soon
thereafter, after two days of the death of the
deceased, the husband of the deceased was also
committed suicide; and their child aged about two
and half years is being looked after by the present
applicant. Furthermore, applicant is a senior
citizen; has no concern with the alleged incident
and the respondent no. 2 leveled the allegation
against her due to sudden loss of the deceased.
5. In the counter affidavit filed on behalf of
the respondent no. 2, it is stated that the
applicant and her son had not demanded any
dowry but due to sudden death of the deceased,
the respondent no. 2 became annoyed and as a
result, he lodged the present FIR against the
applicant and her son.
6. Learned State Counsel submits that the
statements of the witnesses were recorded under
Section 161 Cr.P.C. and all the witnesses have
supported the prosecution version. She also
submits that the deceased was died under
unnatural circumstances in her matrimonial
house.
7. Section 304-B of IPC deals with the
dowry death which reads as under:
"(1) Where the death of a woman is caused by
any burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise
than under normal circumstances within seven
years of her marriage and it is shown that soon
before her death she was subjected to cruelty or
harassment by her husband or any relative of
her husband for, or in connection with, any
demand for dowry, such death shall be called
"dowry death", and such husband or relative
shall be deemed to have caused her death.
(2) Whoever commits dowry death shall be
punished with imprisonment for a term which
shall not be less than seven years but which
may extend to imprisonment for life."
8. In order to appreciate the application of
Section 304-B, the essential ingredients are:-
(i) The death of a woman should be caused
by burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise
than under normal circumstances.
(ii) Such a death should have been caused
within seven years of her marriage.
(iii) She must have been subjected to cruelty
or harassment soon before her death by her
husband or any relatives of her husband.
(iv) Such cruelty or harassment must be in
connection with any demand for dowry.
9. It is undisputed case of the parties that
marriage of the deceased (wife) had taken place
within seven years of the incident. It is also
undisputed that death of the deceased occurred
otherwise than under normal circumstances, as
she had committed suicide by hanging.
10. It is now to be seen whether the
deceased was subjected to cruelty or harassment
soon before her death by applicant or her
husband and whether the same was in
connection with demand of dowry. In the FIR,
there is no allegation of any demand of dowry.
Furthermore, the complainant (father of the
deceased) in his counter affidavit filed on the
record has clearly admitted that he lodged the FIR
in haste on account of sudden death of his
daughter. In his counter affidavit, he further
admitted that the present applicant or the
husband of the deceased never demanded any
dowry nor his daughter (deceased) had ever told
him about any demand of dowry on the part of
the accused applicant or the husband of the
deceased.
11. Having heard the contentions of learned
counsel for the parties and considering the facts
and circumstances and the legal proposition as
discussed above, this is a fit case where
interference is required under Section 482 Cr.P.C.
as no prima facie case is made out against the
applicant, therefore, the present criminal
miscellaneous application under Section 482 of
Cr.P.C. is allowed. Cognizance order dated
15.07.2019 as well as the entire proceedings of
Criminal Case No. 536 of 2019, "State v.
Bhuvneshwari Devi", under Sections 304-B &
498-A IPC, pending in the Court of learned Chief
Judicial Magistrate, Pithoragarh are hereby
quashed. Inform the Court concerned
accordingly.
(N.S. Dhanik, J.)
22.03.2021
AK
