LexBHANUBEN AND ANR. versus STATE OF GUJARAT
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~ A B [2015) 9 S.C.R. 1124 BHANUBENANDANR. v. STATE OF GUJARAT (Criminal Appeal No. 1209 of 2015) SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 [T. S.THAKUR AND V. GOPALA GOWDA, JJ.) Penal Code, 1860: s.498A, 306 - Dowry death - c Allegation that deceased committed suicide by taking poison as she was harassed for bringing dowry - Conviction of husband and mother-in-law and sister-in-law by courts below ~ Husband undergof"!e the sentences passed against him :- Instant appeal by mother-in-law and sister-in-law - Held: D Evidence of the prosecution witnesses and the circumstantial evidence makes it amply clear that deceased was subjected to cruelty at the hands of her husband and her in-laws which had caused her grave mental and physical injury- The same had made her run away from matrimonial home several times E - Ingredients to constitute offence uls.498A fully satisfied against appellants - However, it cannot be said that the cruelty meted on the deceased led her to commit suicide or that accused had abetted in the commission of the same - Dying declaration was to the effect that she took poison by F mistake which was corroborated by the doctor who had examined her and declared her stable and conscious to make statement - Thus prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that accused had abetted the deceased in commission of suicide - Conviction u/s. 306 set aside - G Keeping in view the age of the appellants i.e. mother-in-law of'the deceased who is said to be around 60 years of age and sister-in-law of the deceased who is more than 35 years of age and having a child to take care of, the sentence is H limited to the period of imprisonment ;:if ready undergone by them. 1124 BHANUBEN v. STATE OF GUJARAT 1125 Partly allowing the appeal, the Court· A HELD: It is an undisputed fact that the deceased was frequently taking refuge at Kanta Stri Vikas Gruh, Rajkot, Mahi la Vikas Gruh and Gonda I Bala Ashram and that her paternal relatives had pacified her many a times B and she was sent back to her in laws' home after compromise. The same has been proved by the deposition of PW-6 paternal uncle of the deceased and PW-7-the wife of PW-6 and PW-9-the brother of the deceased. The same has also been further corroborated C by PW-19 who is a social worker atAmreli Mahila Vikas Gruh. It is also an undisputed fact that the deceased had filed a complaint against the accused for maintenance, which was not paid to her by her husband. She had also filed an FIR against the accused under Sections 498A, D 506(2) 114 of l.P.C and Sections 3 and 7 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. On several occasions after the compromise, the deceased was again thrown out of her matrimonial home. These witnesses have also stated that the deceased was regularly taunted and mentally· and E physically harassed by the accused and she had complained about the same to them. It was also deposed before the trial court by several other independent witnesses who were the neighbours of the accused and F live in the same vicinity that they had witnessed heated exchanges and quarrel between the accused and the deceased which has been corroborated by PW-.8. It was also noticed that the deceased had spent several days sleeping at odd places like, empty buses, etc. as she had G nowhere else to go. Further, PW-12 in his testimony had stated that the deceased was loitering outside his street and had asked for his help, thereby claiming that her husband and in-laws were trying to kill her and that is why she ran away from their home. She also had burn H 1126 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 9 S.C.R. A marks branded on her hands. Therefore, he had helped her and paid her an amount of Rs.200/- for the bus fare. The mother-in- law ignored the pleas of the deceased by calling her act as "epileptic fits" when the deceased • had come running out of her house and was calling out B to her for help on the day of the unfortunate incidence. The reason that the deceased kept coming back to her matrimonial home by way of compromise in spite of all the cruelty and torture meted against her is because of c her minor daughter who was living with her husband. Thus, the ingredients to constitute the offence under the provision of Section 498A of l.P.C. have been fully satisfied againstthe appellants. [Paras 17, 19, 20] [1133- F-H; 1134-A-H; 1135-A-C, F-H] D Vishwanath Agrawal v. Sar/a Vishwanath Agrawal (2012) 7 SCC 288: 201
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