The lower court had held the husband guilty under section 304 B(1) of IPC where the death of a woman is caused by any burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise than under normal circumstances within seven years of her marriage and shown that soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband in connection with or any demand for dowry.
However, Justice R C Chavan upheld the lower court's order finding Manohar Patil guilty for offences of 'cruelty' under section 498-A of IPC and abetment of suicide under section 306 of IPC for which he has to undergo three years' RI.
The high court agreed with the trial judge that the appellant abetted commission of suicide by the victim and held that his conviction for this offence punishable under section 306 of IPC would have to be maintained.
The victim married Patil on May 13, 1990. In the marriage there was a demand of certain articles which included a wrist watch. While the demand for a gold ring was fulfilled, the watch, however, had not been supplied. This led to ill-treatment to the victim at the hands of the appellant.
On May 29, the victim came to her brother's house and told her family about the ill-treatment meted out to her by her husband. On June 13, 1990, when the victim's family members had gone to the see her, they found that the victim had burn injuries on her body. They were told that she was subjected to cruelty.
The victim committed suicide on June 25 by setting her afire and later succumbed to the injuries.
The judge held that there was no doubt that evidence on record shows that the appellant had harassed the victim on account of unlawful dowry demand. The evidence also shows that the victim had committed suicide by setting herself on fire within seven years of marriage as laid down under 306 IPC.(More)
