1. Though served, but no one is appeared on behalf of the respondent. Today, the Appeal is taken up for hearing.
2. The present appeal, under Section 378 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, is directed against the judgment and order of acquittal dated 25.6.1996 passed by the learned Second Extra Assistant Sessions Judge, Palanpur, in Sessions Case No.131 of 1990, whereby the accused has been acquitted from the charges leveled against him.
3. Facts in brief of the prosecution case are such that the accused person caused mental and physical harassment to the deceased. The accused had beaten the deceased .Therefore, as a last resort, the deceased committed suicide by hanging herself on tree and died. It is alleged that the accused misbehaved with the deceased and therefore, the attitude on the part of the accused, resulted into committing suicide. Therefore, the offence under Sections 498(A) 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, respondent was arrested and, ultimately, chargesheet was filed against him 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.131 of 1990. The trial was initiated against the respondent accused.
4. To prove the case against the present accused, the prosecution has examined, in all 9 witnesses and also produced several documentary evidence.
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 25.6.1996.
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 the accused consumed liquor and beaten his wife i.e. deceased Ambaben and the accused illtreated his wife, therefore, she committed suicide and died. She further submitted that on 28.5.1990, in the morning, deceased Ambaben by strangulating on the branch of neem tree with the help of rope and committed suicide. The ingredients of Section 498(A) and 306 of the Indian Penal Code are established and thereby, the aspects of instigation or provocation on the part of the accused are proved. But the learned Assistant Judge has not properly evaluated the evidence led before me and wrongly acquitted the accused. The father of the deceased categorically stated in his evidence about the cruelty meted out by the accused upon the accused. 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.
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. I have perused the contents of complaint, panchnama as well as inquest panchnama and it is come out that the deceased committed suicide by hanging herself on tree. From evidence of the witnesses, it is come out that the deceased had not made any complaint regarding harassment caused by the accused. On the contrary, the accused was keeping the deceased very well and there was no cruelty on the part of the accused. Only the accused had bad habit of consuming liquor and on that ground, the prosecution tried to prove the case against the accused, but there are so many contradictions between the evidence of the witnesses and documentary evidence. There is any suicide note found by the Investigating Officer showing that the accused had played any role which compelled the deceased to commit suicide. Therefore, the ingredients of Section 498(A), 306 are not established against the accused person. 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 person is not proved and therefore, learned Assistant 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. It is also a settled legal position that in acquittal appeal, the appellate court is not required to rewrite the judgment or to give fresh reasonings, when the reasons assigned by the Court below are found to be just and proper. Such principle is laid down by the Apex Court in the case of State of Karnataka Vs. Hemareddy, reported in AIR 1981 SC 1417 wherein it is held as under:
“… This court has observed in Girija Nandini Devi V. Bigendra Nandini Chaudhary (1967)1 SCR 93: (AIR 1967 SC 1124) that it is not the duty of the appellate court when it agrees with the view of the trial court on the evidence to repeat the narration of the evidence or to reiterate the reasons given by the trial court expression of general agreement with the reasons given by the Court the decision of which is under appeal, will ordinarily suffice.”
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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