LexV. K. MISHRA&ANR. versus STATE OF UTIARAKHAND &ANR.
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[2015] 8 S.C.R. 1 V. K. MISHRA&ANR. v. STATE OF UTIARAKHAND &ANR. Criminal Appeal No. 1247 OF 2012 JULY28, 2015 [T. S. THAKUR, R. K. AGRAWAL AND R. BANUMATHI, JJ.] A B Penal Code, 1860: ss.3048, 498A - Dowry death - c Death by poisoning - Prosecution established beyond reasonable doubt that soon before death the deceased was subjected to cruelty and harassment by her husband and in- laws in connection with demand of dowry-Accused were not successful in rebutting presumption raised uls. 1138 of the o Evidence Act- Conviction upheld, however, sentence of life imprisonment reduced in case of husband to 10 years and in case of in-Jaws to 7 years each - Evidence Act, 1872 - 1138. Evidence Act, 1872: 1138 - Presumption - Held: In a E case where demand of dowry is alleged such demands are confined within the four walls of the house and known only to the members of both sides of the family - In such cases, independent and direct evidence with regard to the F occurrences is ordinarily not available - That is why the Legislature introquced ss.113A and 1138 in the Evidence Act by permitting presumption to be raised in certain . circumstances - Penal Code, 1860- ss.3048, 498A. FIR: Evidentiaryvalue of-Held: FIR is not meant to be G an encyclopedia nor is it expected to contain all the details of the prosecution case - It may be sufficient if the broad facts of the prosecution case are stated in the FJR- lfyoung daughter dies in unnatural circumstances within 6 weeks of 1 H 2 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2015] B S.C.R. A marriage then father is expected to be disturbed and under mental shock and, therefore, non mention of details of payment of money and dowry harassment meted out to her daughter in FIR would not make the prosecution version incredulous. B Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: ss. 161, 162 - Police examination of witnesses - Purpose and manner in which police statement recorded us. 161 can be used- Held: Police statement recorded uls. 161 C can be used for limited purpose of contradiction of such witnesses - Court cannot suo moto make use of statements to police not proved and a$k question with reference to them which are inconsistent with the testimony of the witness in the court- In the instant case, PW-1 was not confronted with his D statement recorded by the police u/s. 161 to prove the contradiction nor his stateaient marked for the purpose of contradiction was read out to the investigating officer - When neither PW-1 nor the investigating officer were confronted E with the statement and questioned about it, PW-1 's statement recorded u/s. 161 cannot be looked into for any purpose much less to discredit the testimony of PW-1 and the prosecution version. s. 162 - Words 'if duly proved' used in s. 162 - F Connotation of - Held: These words clearly show that the record of the statement of witnesses cannot be admitted in evidence straightway nor can be looked into but they must be duly proved for the purpose of contradiction by eliciting admission from the witness during cross-examination and G also during the cross-examination of the investigation officer. Partly allowing the appeals, the Court HELD: 1. A conjoint reading of Section 1138 of the Evidence Act and Section 3048 IPC shows that there H must be material to show that soon before her death the V. K. MISHRA&ANR. v. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND & 3 ANR. victim was subjected to cruelty or harassment. In his A complaint, PW-1 had cat~gc;irically stated that the appellants had been torturing his daughter with their cruel behaviour and she had complained the same to him and that he advised her to compromise with the situation and create a healthy atmosphere. In. the FIR, B though, there is no specific mention about the demand of dowry, however, cruelty and torture alleged in the FIR could have been only in connection with demand of money or jewels. It was not the case of ti. 0 defence that the alleged cruelty could only be ti. .. matrimonial C skirmishes due to normal wear and tear of the matrimonial house. The money was given by PW-1 both prior to marriage and after the·marriage on 11.07.1997 also. Viewed in that context, the alleged cruelty and 0 torture could have been only in the context of demand of money or jewellery. FIR' is not meant to be an encyclopedia nor is it expected to contain all the details of the prosecution case. Complaint was lodged within few hours after the tragic e
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