THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE V.BHARATHIDASAN
Criminal Appeal No.647 of 2009
1. Chandran @ Chandru
2. Kumudha ... Appellants Vs.
State rep. by The Asst. Commissioner of Police, Poonamallee in T14, Mangadu Police Station Kancheepuram District (Crime No.549 of 2007) ... Respondent
PRAYER: Criminal Appeal filed under Section 374 (2) of Criminal Procedure Code to set aside the conviction and sentence in respect of offence under Section 498(A) passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Mahila Court, Chengleput, Kancheepuram District in S.C.No.26 of 2008 dated 08.10.2009 on the file of the learned Sessions Judge, Mahila Court, Chengleput, Kancheepuram District.
For Appellant : Mr.M.Saravana Kumar For Respondent : Mr.M.F.Shabana Government Advocate (Criminal side)
JUDGMENT
A1 and A2 in S.C.No.26 of 2008 on the file of the Learned Sessions Judge, Mahila Court, Chengleput, Kancheepuram District are the appellants herein. They stood charged for the offences under section 498, 304B and 306 IPC. The Trial Court convicted the appellants under section 498(a) IPC. A1 was sentenced to undergo one year rigorous imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.500/- in default to undergo three months rigorous imprisonment. A2 was sentenced to undergo six months rigorous imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.500/- in default to undergo one year rigorous imprisonment. The appellants were acquitted for offences under section 304(b) and 306 IPC. Challenging the above said conviction and sentence, the appellants are before this Court with this appeal.
2. The case of prosecution in brief are as follows:
The deceased in this case is one Lakshmi, is the wife of A1. A2 is the mother of A1. The marriage between A1 and the deceased took place on 03.04.2006, it is an intercaste, love marriage. A1 belongs to Schedule Caste (Adi Dravida) community and deceased belongs to Backward Class (Naidu) Community. Initially there was resistance for the marriage from the deceased family, then both family agreed to conduct the marriage in a grand manner and the marriage took place at Mangadu Temple. After the marriage, the accused demanded 15 sovereigns of gold and a two wheeler. At the time of marriage, the deceased was pregnant by three months and after seven months of marriage she gave birth to a baby. Even thereafter the accused demanded dowry and a Television. Then on 14.08.2007, the deceased committed suicide by hanging. Then P.W.1, mother of the deceased lodged a complaint in the respondent Police Station on 15.08.2007, at about 4 p.m. P.W.11, Sub-Inspector in the respondent Police Station, on receipt of the complaint registered a case in Crime No.549 of 2007 under section 174(3) Cr.P.C. and prepared F.I.R and sent the same to the higher officials and also to Revenue Divisional Officer. P.W.12 is the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Poonamallee Range, on receipt of the F.I.R, proceeded to the scene of occurrence, prepared observation mahazar- Ex.P12 and also rough sketch-Ex.P13. P.W.9, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Chennai, conducted inquest on the dead body in the presence of Panchayators in the Kilpauk Hospital on 17.08.2007 and prepared inquest report-Ex.P8, and conducted enquiry, recorded statements and filed a report-Ex.P9. P.W.8-Doctor working in the Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital, conducted postmortem autopsy on the dead body of the deceased and found following injuries:
“An incomplete brown colour antemortem ligature abrasion measuring 19 cm x 1 cm seen in the front and side of neck in the front, the ligature abrasion is ...the thyroid cartilage. On the Right side 9 cm below the martoid process on the left side 5 cm below the martoid process, 6 cm below the chin and 8 cm above the sternum. O/s no evidence of hemorrhage in the right side of the neck. Thyroid cartilage and hyoid bone are intact. No other evidences of external or internal injury are made out. Finger marks are deeply analysed. Hear-normal c/s clotted blood filled in all chambers. coronaries -patent. Trachea-empty. Lungs, liver, spleen, kidney-normal c/s congested; stomach-200 ml of brown colour liquid. No specific smell. Intestines-distended with gas. Small intestine-yellowish particles present. Bladder, uterus- empty pelvis, scalp, bones, brain, membranes, spinal cord- intact.”
The doctor was of the opinion that the deceased appeared to have died of Asphyxia due to hanging. P.W.12-Assistant Commissioner of Police, continued the investigation, recorded the statement of RDO, Doctor and other witnesses and based on the investigation, he altered the F.I.R for the offences under section 498A and 304B IPC, the altered report in E.P.16, and he arrested A1 on 18.08.2007. Then after completion of investigation, he filed a charge sheet.
3. Considering all the above materials, the Trial Court framed charges as mentioned in paragraph one of this order, for which the accused denied the same.
4. In order to prove this case, prosecution examined 12 witnesses, marked 16 documents and 2 material objects.
5. Out of the 12 witnesses examined, P.W.1 is the mother of the deceased. She spoke about the marriage between A1 and A2 and a demand of 15 sovereigns of gold and a two wheeler by the accused. Thereafter the deceased also asked her to buy a television. P.W.2 is the father of the deceased. According to him, the deceased asked him for some jewels and she also told that her husband was asking for that. P.W.3 is the brother of the deceased. According to him, he used to visit the house of the deceased, where A2 compelled her to do something for the child as a maternal uncle. P.W.4 is the neighbor. He along with P.W.1, saw the accused hanging and helped A1 to remove the body. P.Ws.5,6,7 turned hostile. P.W.8 is the doctor, who conducted postmortem autopsy on the dead body and handed over the body and gave report-Ex.P6. P.W.9 is the RDO, who conducted inquest and filed inquest report. P.W.10 is the photographer, who took photographs of the dead body. P.W.11 is the Sub-Inspector of Police, registered the F.I.R. P.W.12- Assistant Commissioner of Police, conducted investigation and also altered the offence and recorded the statement of witnesses and after completion of investigation filed a charge sheet.
6. When the above incriminating materials were put before the accused under Section 313 Cr.P.C., they denied the same and they did not examine any witnesses but marked a list of articles handed over to P.W.1's family after the death of the deceased as Ex.D1.
7. Considering all the above incriminating materials, the Trial Court convicted the accused as mentioned in paragraph-1 of this judgment. Challenging the above said conviction and sentence, the appellants are before this Court with this Criminal Appeal.
8. Heard the Mr.M.Saravana Kumar, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellants and Mrs.M.F.Shabana, Government Advocate (Criminal side) appearing on behalf of the respondent and perused the records carefully.
9. It is an admitted case that it is an intercaste love marriage between A1 and the deceased. Initially there were some resistance from the deceased's family and thereafter both family have agreed to conduct the marriage in a grand manner. From the evidence of P.W.1, at the time of marriage, Appellants have demanded 15 sovereigns of gold and a two wheeler and they have given 7 sovereigns of gold and another 3 sovereigns of gold. But in the cross examination, she has stated that the entire marriage expenses were borne by the accused family and A1 and the deceased lived happily. She further admitted in the cross examination that the accused never asked for any jewels or cash from her. P.W.2 is the father of the deceased. He had stated that the deceased used to ask him for jewels and when he asked her, she had said that A1 is only asking for the jewels. But in the cross examination, he deposed that both deceased and accused lively happily and accused never demanded any jewels or any other dowry from them. It is only the deceased asked for the jewels from him nor at the instance of the Appellants. P.W.3 is the brother of the deceased. He has also stated that A2 only asked him to do something for the child as a maternal uncle. From the evidence of P.Ws.1 to 3, it could be seen that the accused never demanded any dowry and on their own, they have given the jewels to the deceased. Even from evidence of P.W.1 and P.W.2, it could be seen that there were no quarrel between A1 and the deceased and they lived happily. P.W.12 admitted in the cross examination that P.W.1 to P.W.3 did not said anything about the demand of dowry during the investigations. Hence, the evidence of P.W.1 is only an improvement at a later stage.
10. In the above circumstances, it is highly unsafe to convict the accused based on the evidence of P.W.1 to 3. Hence, I am of the considered view that the prosecution has not proved the charge under Section 498A IPC, beyond any reasonable doubt and as such the accused are entitled for acquittal.
11. In the result, the Criminal Appeal is allowed. The conviction and sentence imposed on the Appellants is set aside and the accused/appellants are acquitted. The fine amount already paid by the accused/appellants to be refunded to them. The bail bond executed by the Appellate Court stands canceled.
23.02.2017 Index : Yes/No Internet : Yes/No rm To
1. The Sessions Judge, Mahila Court, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram District.
2. The Public Prosecutor, High Court of Madras.
V.BHARATHIDASAN.J.,
rm
Criminal Appeal No.647 of 2009
23.02.2017