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Madhya Pradesh High Court · body

2014 DIGILAW 299 (MP)

State of M. P. v. Sonu

2014-03-14

S.R.WAGHMARE

body2014
ORDER 1. By this application under section 378(3) of the CrPC the applicant/State has prayed for grant to leave to file appeal against the judgment dated 23.5.2012 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Dhar in Criminal Appeal No.62/2012 acquitting the accused from offence under section 498A of the IPC. 2. Briefly stated of the prosecution case is that on 4.7.2010 at 3:00 pm Police Thana Sagur received a complaint from the complainant Uma, who along with her father registered an FIR that she was married to one Sonu @ Rajkumar one year prior of the incident and initially she was treated properly by her husband and father-in-law Bharatsingh. However thereafter, along with father-in-law her brother-in-law Govind started taunting her and asked for dowry. They used to partake alcohol and also physically assaulted her numbers of times, they asked for 25 tolas of gold and one day drove her away from the matrimonial home. Her father-in-law Bharat Singh had escorted her to her parents’ house one and half months prior to filing the FIR since then she was living with her parents. On the date of incident she had gone to her matrimonial home along with her father Bhagvan Singh when they pushed her away and demanded 25 tolas of gold and told that if she insisted coming back inside without the gold they would kill her. After registering of the FIR and recording of the statements of witnesses the matter was put up before the Judicial Magistrate, Dhar, who committed the accused the trial for offence under sections 498-A, 323 and 506 of the IPC. 3. The accused/respondents abjured their guilt and stated that they were falsely implicated in the matter and the complainant wanted to undertake a second marriage and hence had taken up the false plea. They examined one Chainsingh and Umashankar in their defence to indicate that dowry was never taken nor was the complainant treated with cruelty. The trial Court on considering the evidence acquitted the accused from offence under sections 323 and 506 of the IPC and hence the complainant filed an appeal against the acquittal from these offences before the Additional Sessions Judge, Dhar and prayed for setting aside the aforesaid acquittal. The trial Court on considering the evidence acquitted the accused from offence under sections 323 and 506 of the IPC and hence the complainant filed an appeal against the acquittal from these offences before the Additional Sessions Judge, Dhar and prayed for setting aside the aforesaid acquittal. The appellate Court however also considered the question whether the conviction under section 498-A of the IPC was correct and came to conclusion that the accused/respondents were properly acquitted for offence under sections 323 and 506 of the IPC and, thereafter, also acquitted the accused Rajkumar and Bhart Singh from offence under section 498A of the IPC and hence the present application for grant to leave to file appeal. 4. Counsel for the appellant/State has vehemently urged the fact that the trial Court had properly acquitted the accused only from offence under sections 323 and 506 of the IPC and whereas the appellate Court had erred in acquitting the accused from all the offences. Counsel stated that there was sufficient evidence on record in the evidence of Mangubai PW 2 the mother of the complainant and the prosecutrix has also categorically stated that 25 tolas of gold was demanded; then Premsingh PW 3 and Uma PW 1 have categorically stated that her in-laws treated the prosecutrix with cruelty and had driven her out of matrimonial home demanding that she fetch 25 tolas of gold. The prosecutrix complainant belongs to a poor family, who could not afford 25 tolas of gold. Moreover Bhagwansingh PW 4 the father of the prosecutrix has also stated that 25 tolas of gold was demanded by in-laws, who often beat her because they (her parents) were unable to provide the demand of dowry. Under the circumstances, Counsel submitted that the case was fully made out for offence and both the Courts below had erred in acquitting the accused. He prayed for leave to file appeal. 5. Counsel for the respondents, on the other hand, has fully supported the impugned judgment and submitted that the appellate Court has also rightly observed that the prosecution was unable to prove that there was a demand of dowry by the in-laws of the complainant and relied on Preeti Gupta and others v. State of Jharkhand and others (2010) 7 SCC 667 , whereby the apex Court as held in para 35 of the judgment as thus : 35. The ultimate object of justice is to find out truthand punish the guilty and the protect the innocent. To find out the truth is a Herculean task in majority of these complaints. The tendency of implicating the husband and conclusion of the criminal trial, it is difficult to ascertain the real truth. The Courts have to be extremely careful and cautions in dealing with these complaints and must take pragmatic realities into consideration while dealing with matrimonial cases. The allegations of harassment of husband’s close relations who had been living in different cities and never visited or rarely visited the place where the complaints resided would have an entirely different complexion. The allegations of the complaints are required to be scrutinized with great care and circumspection. And hence Counsel submitted that the complaint has to be scrutinized with great care and circumspection. PW 1 Uma has categorically stated that she had come to her parents’ house on the festival and intially there was no complaint against the in-laws. Besides there was material descrepancies regarding the statement of the father-in-law, who had escorted the complainant to her matrimonial home. Moreover, PW 2 Mangubai, the mother has also admitted that Uma used to go Satsang to State of Gujarat once in every fifteen days and it is also stated that the in-laws had never stopped her for visiting her parents’ house on the religious function on her demand. PW 2 Mangubai had categorically stated that in their community 2-3 tolas of gold are given in the marriage and Ex.D/2 indicated that Uma was not willing to stay in the matrimonial home and that is why false complaint has been filed against the inlaws. PW 4 Bhagwansingh has in para 3 of his deposition admitted that his daughter had never told him regarding the demand of gold and then has corrected himself stayed that one occasion while returning from matrimonial home Uma had complained that 25 tolas of gold was demanded by her in-laws. Similarly on considering the testimony of complainant Uma, PW 1 the Court had come to the conclusion that after taking alcohol by the husband there was a quarrel occurred between the wife and husband due to which, a false case was filed. Hence, Counsel prayed for dismissal of the application for leave to file appeal. 6. Similarly on considering the testimony of complainant Uma, PW 1 the Court had come to the conclusion that after taking alcohol by the husband there was a quarrel occurred between the wife and husband due to which, a false case was filed. Hence, Counsel prayed for dismissal of the application for leave to file appeal. 6. On considering the above submissions and considering the impugned judgment, I find that there is concurrent findings against the State, that the prosecution was unable to prove that the accused were guilty as charged. Moreover the complainant Uma PW 1 has categorically stated that her-in-laws treated her nicely when she was married and only after passage of one year they started making demand for dowry. However she has not categorically stated that she was beaten by any of the inlaws or that they have abused her in anyway. Moreover implicating the in-laws only because she was not treated by her husband by specifying any overt act or cruelty or demand of dowry by in-laws would not entail the conviction. The trial Court has properly relied on Preeti Gupta (supra) Moreover it also appears that it is more the case of the husband being an alcoholic and PW 1 Uma has stated that she used to go satsang in the State of Gujarat almost 15 days in a month. In view of the above, I find that there is no error in the judgment of acquittal of the respondents. It is an established principle of criminal jurisprudence that the evidence must be of such a stellar so quality as to establish that no other conclusion except the guilt of the accused is possible. I find that the impugned judgment is based on sound and cogent reasons, there has been proper marshalling of evidence. The apex Court had time and again cautioned that the High Court would not be justified in interfering with the judgment of acquittal passed by the trial Court unless the judgment is totally ill-founded or wholly misconceived, based on erroneous analysis of evidence and non-existent material, demonstrably unsustainable or perverse. Under the circumstance, I do not find any good ground to allow the application. Hence, the application for grant of leave to file appeal is denied and the application is hereby dismissed.