SMT. GARGI versus STATE OF HARYANA

Citation: [2019] 13 S.C.R. 1 · Decided: 19-09-2019 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: A.M. KHANWILKAR · Disposal: Appeal(s) allowed

Cited by 9 judgment(s) · cites 5 · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

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SMT. GARGI
v.
STATE OF HARYANA
(Criminal Appeal No. 1046 of 2010)
SEPTEMBER 19, 2019
[A. M. KHANWILKAR AND DINESH MAHESHWARI, JJ.]
Penal Code, 1860 – s.302 – Conviction under – Prosecution
case was that appellant had killed her husband by strangulation
and with the help of co-accused persons (her brothers), thereafter,
hanged the dead body in one of the rooms in the house, as if it were
a case of suicide – The matter rested on circumstantial evidence
where, according to the prosecution, the relations of the deceased
(husband) and the appellant (wife) were too strained; the deceased
had stated threat perceptions that his wife might kill him, for she
was involved in illicit relations and was desirous of grabbing his
property – PW-7 (brother of deceased) and PW-8 (sister of deceased)
testified in support of the prosecution case – Trial Court convicted
all the accused persons – However, the High Court found that
circumstances brought on record were not sufficient against the
brothers of the appellant and acquitted them but, affirmed the
findings against the appellant – Appellant filed appeal before the
Supreme Court – Held: Both the Trial Court and the High Court
convicted appellant with reference to the testimony of PW-7 and
PW-8 – A combined look at the testimony of PW-7 and PW-8 brings
to the fore one of the significant facts that there was an ancestral
house of the family and the same was sold by PW-7 alone and the
sale proceeds were utilised by him in multiple ventures, which resulted
in closure or failure – Appellant had stated categorically that the
property and money were the root of discord in the family and the
same was the cause for family of the deceased to implicate her –
DW-3 also testified that the deceased had his tense moments because
of money demands of his brother i.e. PW-7 – As per sketch prepared
by PW-3, there was a bathroom-cum-toilet attached with room where
deceased was putting up as per witnesses PW-7 and PW-8 – It belied
the suggestion that deceased was forced to use the washroom of the
 [2019] 13 S.C.R. 1
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[2019] 13 S.C.R.
tenant on the ground floor – Trial Court and High Court totally
overlooked these factors – Strong elements of doubts surfaced on
record as regard to the reliability of the PW-7 and PW-8 – Further,
there was no direct and cogent evidence on record that the appellant
was involved in illicit relations or was forcing the deceased to transfer
property – Other prosecution witnesses did not even remotely indicate
any traces of discord in the relations of the deceased and the
appellant – Insofar as last seen together theory is concerned, the
gap between the point of time when the appellant and deceased
were last seen together (29.04.1997) and when the deceased was
found died (01.05.1997) was not that small possibility of any other
person being the author of the crime can be rendered totally
improbable – That apart, the investigating agency and the
prosecution were not forthright – The relevant aspects of crimes
were not investigated properly and relevant witnesses like mother,
daughter and brother-in-law of deceased were not examined –
Further, investigating agency avoided independent witness in the
investigation – In the circumstances, the benefit of doubt given to
the appellant – Hence, conviction of the appellant u/s.302 set aside.
Allowing the appeal, the Court
HELD: Alleged last statement of deceased and motive of
appellant
1. A combined look at the testimony of PW-7 (brother of
deceased) and PW-8 (sister of deceased) brings to the fore one
of the significant facts that there had been an ancestral house
belonging to the family that was sold by PW-7 alone and the sale
proceeds were utilised by him to open a grocery shop, one of the
multiple ventures he had tried, mostly resulting in closure or
failure. The appellant had been categoric in her assertion that
the property and money had been at the root of discord in the
family and the same had been the cause for the family of the
deceased implicating her. DW-3 has also testified to the effect
that the deceased had his tense moments because of money
demands of his brother i.e., PW-7. Unfortunately, the Trial Court
as also the High Court have totally overlooked these factors and
features hovering over the prosecution story. [Para 24][40-C-D]
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2. Going further deep into the prosecution story, it is clear
that there is no direct and cogent evidence on record th

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