LexESHWARAPPA versus STATE OF KARNATAKA
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[2015] 8 S.C.R. 979 ESHWARAPPA v. STATE OF KARNATAKA (Criminal Appeal No. 1951 of2012) JULY24, 2015 [T.S. THAKUR AND ADARSH KUMAR GOEL, JJ.] A 8 Penal Code, 1860: ss.3'>2, 498-A and 201 - Dowiy death - Death by strangulation - Circumstantial evidence - c A/legation that the appellant-husband developed illicit relationship with another woman and mistreated his wife and made demand of dowiy- On the fateful day, wife requested· the appellant to give some money to her so .that she could take her ailing son to hospital-Appel/ant asked her to come · D to his field and later the deceased was found dead with ligature marks around her neck- Trial court found him guilty ulss. 302, 498-A and 201 - High Court upheld conviction holding that deceased was last seen alone in the company of the appellant and the conduct of appellant of not informing E the police or parents of the deceased regarding the incident and absconding from the place of incident was unnatural - On appeal, held: All prosecution witnesses deposed on similar lines regarding the treatment given to the deceased by the appellant and the illicit relationship with the other F woman - The material facts were fully established - Theory of suicide also rejected - Conviction u/ss.302 and 201 upheld - However, conviction uls. 498-A set aside. · Partly allowing the appeal, the Court G HELD: 1. The trial court as also the High Court found the version given by PW-1, the mother of the deceased, to be fully reliable. This witness had deposed that the deceased used to frequently visit her parental H 979 980 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2015] 8 S.C.R. A house and tell her parents about the illicit intimacy between the appellant and A-2. She would also complain to her parents that the appellant was living with A-2. PW-1 advised the appellant to end his illicit relationship with A-2 but the appellant paid no heed to B that advice even after a panchayat was convened to resolve the matter. The panchayat was attended by PW- 6 and PWs 12 to 14. The appellant had, before the panchas agreed to discontinue his illegal liaison and lead a happy married life with the deceased. It was on that C assurance given to the panchas, that the latter had advised the parents of the deceased not to lodge any complaintagainst the appe.llant. However, the deceased had returned to her parents' house just about 15 days 0 after the pancyahat, whereupon PW-1 questioned the · appellant whether he would end his illicit relationship with A-2. He had in reply said that he would rather give up his wife than to discontinue his relationship with f.-2. PW-6 and PWs 12 to 14 have similarly deposed about E the panchayat held in the village and the advice given to the appellant regarding discontinuation of his illicit relationship with A-2. These witnesses have deposed that the appellant had before the panchayat promised that he would end his relationship with A-2 and lead a F happy married life with the deceased which he had failed to abide by. Both the Trial Court and the High Court have found the depositions of these witnesses to be free from any blemish. It was found that these witnesses do not bear any enmity· or grudge against the appellant to make G them unreliable. [paras 6, 7) [987-E-H; 988-A-E] 2. The deposition of PW-1 in regard to the events that took place on the date of incident has also been found to be reliable. This witness has deposed that when H she came to the house of the appellant to see her ESHWARAPPA v. STATE OF KARNATAKA 981 daughter, she·found that the deceased had. taken her A child to the hospital and returned home in the evening on 61h November, 2005. The appellant had, however, stayed in the house of A-2 tha't night. The next day, the deceased had demanded money from the appellant so that she could take the child back to the hospital. The B accused asked the deceased to come to the field where he would. pay the money tQ her. The witness and her husband left for the bus stand to return home while the deceased had along with her child gone to the field where the appellant had called her to collect the money. She C was sometime later found dead under a tree which information was conveyed to the parents the same day. PW-4 is another witness who deposed that he saw the deceased going in front of his shop towards the land of 0 her husband along with her child. About 15 minutes later the appellant came to the shop
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