1. The present appeal, under Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, is directed against the judgment and order of acquittal dated 18.1.1995 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Rajkot, in Sessions Case No.316 of 1993, whereby the accused have been acquitted from the charges leveled against them.
2. As per the case of the prosecution, the deceased Pankhuben was married with accused No.2 and accused Nos.1 and 3 are fatherinlaw and motherinlaw of the deceased respectively. The accused persons gave harassment mentally and physically to the deceased and therefore, she was compelled to adopt the way of suicide and therefore, she jumped into the well and died. Therefore, the offence under Sections 498(A), 306 and 114 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.316 of 1993. The trial was initiated against the respondents accused.
3. To prove the case against the present accused, the prosecution has examined, in all 16 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 respondents of all the charges leveled against him by judgment and order dated 18.1.1995.
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. She further submitted that this is the offence against the woman and from the oral evidence recorded by the trial Court, it appears that the accused illtreated the deceased and they had beaten the deceased. Even the accused persons along with brother and wife of brother of the accused No.2 gave harassment to the deceased under one or other pretext. She further submitted that the accused narrated the theory of accident, but same is not correct. 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 and the order of conviction to the accused may be passed.
7. Learned advocate Mr. Samir Khan for the respondents – accused read the provisions of Section 306 and 498(A) of the Indian Penal Code and submitted that the offence as alleged is not proved through the oral as well as documentary evidence. Even the aspects of provocation, instigation or any kind of abetment on the part of the accused are established against the accused. He submitted that the radius of well is 16 ft. and depth is 29 ft., and here in this case, the deceased got injury on her back portion therefore, it is possible that the incident can be said an accident. He submitted that the offence must be proved through guidelines prescribed in the medical jurisprudence. Therefore, looking to over all circumstances, it can be said that the learned Sessions Judge has rightly acquitted the accused persons by appreciating the evidence in true manner and therefore, the judgment and order is required to be confirmed by this Court. The accused had not played any role in the commission of the alleged offence. Therefore, the Appeal is required to be dismissed.
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. From the record, it does not appear that the accused gave harassment to the deceased on the issue dowry and here it is not a case of the complainant that the deceased was killed by the accused. The issue is only that the deceased had no knowledge to cook the food and also about agriculture work. The deceased on her own went to her matrimonial home and the witnesses did not support the version of the prosecution about the harassment caused by the accused persons. Even the deceased never complained the complainant about the harassment caused by the accused upon her. Looking to the medical evidence, it does not appears that the injuries caused to the deceased due to committing suicide, as the deceased got injury on her back. Therefore, the ingredients of Section 498(A), 306 are not established against the accused persons. I have perused the provisions of Section 107 and 108 of the Indian Penal Code and therefore, it can be said that the prosecution has totally failed to prove the case against the accused. Therefore, the offence alleged against the accused persons 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