1. The present appeal, under Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, is directed against the judgment and order of acquittal dated 24.3.1999 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Amreli, in Sessions Case No.29 of 1997, whereby the accused have been acquitted from the charges leveled against them.
2. Facts in brief of the prosecution case are such that the deceased was married with accused No.1 and the accused No.2 was motherinlaw of the deceased. The accused No.1 wanted to take divorce from deceased and therefore, the accused persons caused mental and physical harassment to the deceased. Therefore, as a last resort, the deceased committed suicide by consuming poison. It is alleged that the accused misbehaved with the deceased and therefore, the attitude on the part of the accused resulted the deceased to commit suicide. Therefore, the offence under Sections 498(A), 114 and 306 of the Indian Penal Code was registered against the accused. Thereafter, necessary investigation was carried out and statements of several witnesses were recorded. During the course of investigation, respondents were arrested and, ultimately, chargesheet was filed against them before the court of learned Judicial Magistrate. Thereafter, as the case was exclusively triable by the Sessions Court, the same was committed to the Sessions Court, which was numbered as Sessions Case No.29 of 1997. The trial was initiated against the respondents accused.
3. To prove the case against the present accused, the prosecution has examined, in all 8 witnesses and also produced several documentary evidence.
4. At the end of trial, after recording the statement of the accused under section 313 of Cr.P.C., and hearing arguments on behalf of prosecution and the defence, the learned Sessions Judge acquitted the respondent of all the charges leveled against him by judgment and order dated 24.3.1999.
5. Being aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the aforesaid judgment and order passed by the Sessions Court, the appellant State has preferred the present appeal.
6. It is submitted by learned APP that the judgment and order of the Sessions Court is against the provisions of law; the Sessions Court has not properly considered the evidence led by the prosecution and looking to the provisions of law itself it is established that the prosecution has proved the whole ingredients of the evidence against the present respondents. Learned APP has also taken this court through the oral as well as the entire documentary evidence. Learned APP Ms. Punani for the appellant – State submitted that there are direct evidence which linked the accused in the commission of the offence. The deceased was not liking by the accused and therefore, she was subjected to cruelty by the respondents accused and on account of cruelty, the deceased along with her daughter committed suicide. The evidence of complainant Bhikhiben at Exhibit 7, Punjabhai Somabhai Harijan at Exhibit 20 and Devabhai Parbatbhai Maru at Exhibit 21 had supported the case of the prosecution, but the learned Sessions Judge has not properly appreciated the evidence in true manner and spirit. Even from the evidence of Doctor, the cause of death is appeared as consumed poison by the deceased. She also submitted that the documentary evidences are corroborated with the evidence of the witnesses. As per her submission, the learned trial Judge without appreciating the evidence on record, wrongly acquitted the accused person and therefore, the judgment and order passed by the learned trial Judge is required to be quashed and set aside by allowing the present Appeal.
7. Learned advocate Mr. Parikh for the respondents submitted that the learned Sessions Judge has rightly appreciated the evidence produced on record and therefore, no interference is required to be called for from this Court.
8. I have perused the record and considered the submissions made by the parties. I have perused the oral evidence of the witnesses examined by the trial Court and no evidence revealed that the accused had instigated the accused to commit suicide. The say of the complainant that the accused gave harassment to the deceased for taking divorce, but same is not established by the documentary evidence and no other evidence supported the say of the complainant. Even the viscera report does not reflect any kind of poison consumed by the deceased while committing the suicide. The evidence are not corroborated with each other supporting the say of the complainant. From the record, it is not reflected that the accused persons instigated the deceased to commit suicide. Therefore, the offence alleged against the accused person is not proved and therefore, learned Sessions Judge has rightly appreciated the evidence on record and rightly acquitted the accused.
9. I have gone through the judgment and order passed by the trial court. I have also perused the oral as well as documentary evidence led before the trial court and also considered the submissions made by learned APP for the appellantState. Thus, from the evidence itself, it is established that the prosecution has not proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
10. Learned APP is not in a position to show any evidence to take a contrary view of the matter or that the approach of the trial court is vitiated by some manifest illegality or that the decision is perverse or that the trial court has ignored the material evidence on record.
11. In the above view of the matter, I am of the considered opinion that the trial court was completely justified in acquitting the respondent of the charges leveled against her.
12. I find that the findings recorded by the trial court are absolutely just and proper and in recording the said findings, no illegality or infirmity has been committed by it.
13. I am, therefore, in complete agreement with the findings, ultimate conclusion and the resultant order of acquittal recorded by the court below and hence find no reasons to interfere with the same. Hence the appeal is hereby dismissed. Bail bond, if any, stands cancelled. Record and proceedings to be sent back to trial Court, forthwith.
(Z.K. SAIYED, J.) ynvyas