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2012 DIGILAW 586 (HP)

State of H. P. v. Neelam Kumar

2012-09-18

DEEPAK GUPTA, RAJIV SHARMA

body2012
Judgment Deepak Gupta, J. 1. The State, by means of this Appeal, has challenged the judgment dated 1st April, 2005 delivered by learned Sessions Judge, Hamirpur in Sessions Trial No.17 of 2004 whereby he acquitted the accused of having committed an offence punishable under Section 498-A read with Section 306 IPC. 2. The undisputed facts are that the deceased Neeruwala was married to accused Neelam Kumar. It is also not disputed that Neeruwala committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling fan in her matrimonial home in village Bambloo, Tehsil Barsar, District Hamirpur, H.P. The case of the prosecution is that Neeruwala committed suicide on account of mental torture and ill-treatment meted out to her by the accused and therefore he is guilty of treating her with cruelty and abetting her suicide. 3. Neeruwala got married to Neelam Kumar in the year 1994. Two children were born out of the wed-lock. Accused Neelam Kumar is a teacher. The deceased Neeruwala was well educated being M.A. B.Ed, but was working against the post of JBT in District Chamba and was residing in Chamba as a tenant in the house of PW-8 Subhash Chand. The only issue which arises in this case is whether Neeruwala was treated with cruelty and whether the accused can be said to have abetted her suicide. 4. It is not disputed that Neeruwala committed suicide. Therefore, it is not necessary to discuss all the evidence. Neeruwala was the real sister of PW-19 Dr.Shashi Soni. According to him, his sister was posted at Chamba and residing there. On 16th July, 2003 since there were vacations at Chamba she came to her matrimonial home in village Bambloo. She telephoned him and informed that she would visit him within one or two days. According to PW-19 she appeared to be disturbed and was weeping. 5. This witness also states that within a few days of the marriage the accused had started ill-treating his sister Neeruwala on petty issues on one pretext or the other. Neeruwala had complained to him that the accused used to beat her. He requested the accused not to ill-treat Neeruwala. In the month of July, 2002 when Neeruwala had come to her matrimonial home she was beaten mercilessly by her husband. Thereafter, PW-19 and his brother Naresh Kumar alongwith one co-villager Vinod Kumar visited the house of the accused. Neeruwala had complained to him that the accused used to beat her. He requested the accused not to ill-treat Neeruwala. In the month of July, 2002 when Neeruwala had come to her matrimonial home she was beaten mercilessly by her husband. Thereafter, PW-19 and his brother Naresh Kumar alongwith one co-villager Vinod Kumar visited the house of the accused. The elder brother of the accused was also called and thereafter the elder brother assured that nothing would happen to Neeruwala in future. On that day accused had taken liquor and apologized for the act and assured not to do such things in future. He therefore suspected that his sister had committed suicide due to some more beatings. He admitted that his statement was recorded by the police. He was confronted with his statement Ext.PW-12/A wherein there is no mention that Neeruwala had telephoned him that the accused used to beat her. He admits that he had not told the police that Neeruwala had been beaten by the accused in his house also. According to him, he had told the police that he alongwith his brother and one Vinod Kumar had gone to the house of the accused on 26th July, 2002 to complain about the beatings and that the accused had apologized. There is no such reference in the earlier statement Ext.PW-12/A though this fact finds mention in the statement recorded under Section 161 Cr.P.C. This witness also admits that no complaint regarding the ill-treatment of Neeruwala was made in any Panchayat or to the Police. 6. Thus, it is apparent that there are many improvements in the statements of the brother. In the first statement made to the police he had not made any mention of the beatings or of the incident which had allegedly taken place in the previous years. The prosecution for reasons best know to it has neither examined Vinod Kumar nor Sh.Naresh Kumar and therefore the statement that they had gone to the house of the accused where the accused had apologized to them is not supported by any other witness. No report was made to the Panchayat, Police or other authorities. The prosecution for reasons best know to it has neither examined Vinod Kumar nor Sh.Naresh Kumar and therefore the statement that they had gone to the house of the accused where the accused had apologized to them is not supported by any other witness. No report was made to the Panchayat, Police or other authorities. It was not necessary that such a report be made but in a case where the brother is a Doctor and the family is educated, if for 9 years the sister had been beaten repeatedly, the brother would have taken some action at least. 7. Though Naresh Kumar has not been examined, his wife Santosh Kumari has been examined. According to her, on 18th July, 2003 Neeruwala telephoned her and informed that her husband (accused)was torturing her without any cause. Her husband was not in the house and she told Neeruwala that they would look into the matter. When her husband came home she apprised him of the message. Next day they came to know that Neeru had expired. According to this witness the accused after marriage without any cause was harassing Neeru after consuming liquor. As mentioned above Naresh Kumar has not been examined. This witness does not talk about any beating being given by the accused. Her statement, at best, reads that accused used to harass Neeru after drinking. She was also confronted with her statement recorded by the police in which she had not stated that the accused was a habitual drinker or that he had been harassing Neeruwala. 8. PW-8 Subhash Chand was the landlord in whose house Neeruwala was residing since August, 2001. According to him, accused visited his wife Neeruwala at Chamba 3-4 times during this period of one year and 10 months. Whenever the accused came, he found that on every occasion the deceased and her husband would argue with each other. He and his wife had accompanied Neeruwala to Jawalamukhi when the ‘Mundan’ of her children took place but none had come from the family of Neeruwala. 9. The matter does not end here. The prosecution itself has proved the suicide note of Neeru which in no uncertain terms states that since she was mentally disturbed she was committing suicide and nobody should be held responsible for her death. 9. The matter does not end here. The prosecution itself has proved the suicide note of Neeru which in no uncertain terms states that since she was mentally disturbed she was committing suicide and nobody should be held responsible for her death. Neither her in-laws nor her husband are at fault and therefore except she herself none should be held responsible for her death. This note has been proved to be in the hand-writing of Neeruwala by the hand-writing expert and the handwriting on the note tallies with the handwriting of Neeru on various admitted documents. 10. In view of the above discussion, we are of the considered view that Neeruwala committed suicide of her own volition and the prosecution failed to prove that she was either treated with cruelty or that the accused abetted her suicide. We, therefore, find no merit in the appeal which is accordingly dismissed. Bail bonds, if any, furnished by the accused are ordered to be discharged.