1. Though served, but nobody is appeared on behalf of the respondents. Therefore, the Appeal is taken up for final hearing on today.
2. The present appeal, under Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, is directed against the judgment and order of acquittal dated 30.12.1993 passed by the learned Assistant Sessions Judge, Mehsana, in Sessions Case No.132 of 1989, whereby the accused have been acquitted from the charges leveled against them.
3. The brief facts of the prosecution case are such that on 12.7.1987, the deceased committed suicide by pouring kerosene on herself and set her at fire. As the allegation, the accused persons caused harassment to the deceased and the accused had beaten the deceased and therefore, the deceased committed suicide and died. Therefore, the offence under Section 306 and 498(A) 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.132 of 1989. The trial was initiated against the respondents accused.
4. To prove the case against the present accused, the prosecution has examined, in all 11 witnesses and also produced several documentary evidence and from the defence side, one witness was examined.
5. 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 30.12.1993 .
6. Being aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the aforesaid judgment and order passed by the Sessions Court, the appellant State has preferred the present appeal.
7. 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. Jhaveri for the appellant – State submitted that due to harassment caused by the accused, the deceased committed suicide and therefore, provocation on the part of the accused is very well proved, but learned trial Judge has not properly appreciated the evidence and wrongly acquitted the accused. She submitted that from the evidence of witness, it appears that the accused persons had beaten the deceased and caused mental and physical harassment. She has read the evidence of other witnesses examined before the trial Court and it is clearly come out that the accused persons gave harassment and therefore, the deceased committed suicide. She further submitted that the dying declaration of the deceased was not properly appreciated in true manner and spirit by the learned Sessions Judge and it is clearly revealed that the accused persons caused torture to the deceased. Therefore, she prayed to allow the appeal by quashing and setting aside the judgment and order of acquittal passed by the learned trial 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. There are contradictions between the documentary and oral evidence. I have minutely perused the oral evidence of the witnesses examined during the trial. I have also carefully perused the dying declaration of the deceased and from the overall contents of the evidence, it is not reflected anywhere that the aspects of investigation, abetment and provocation on the part of the accused are proved and same resulted into the suicide and the deceased died. From the contents of the dying declaration, it does not come out that the accused persons compelled the deceased to commit suicide. From the evidence, it is not reflected that the accused had played active role in the commission of the offence as alleged against them. I have perused the judgment and order passed by the learned Sessions Court. 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