New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said that for seeking the conviction of a person accused of causing dowry death, the prosecution has to produce evidence that establishes that the demand for dowry was coupled with acts of harassment and cruelty.
For the court to draw the presumption that the accused had caused the dowry death, the “prosecution has to prove, besides the demand of dowry, harassment or cruelty caused by the accused to the deceased soon before her death”, the apex court bench of Justice A.K. Patnaik and Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya said in a recent judgment.
Speaking for the bench, Justice Patnaik said: “In any case, to hold an accused guilty of both the offences under Sections 304B (dowry death) and 498A (cruelty), IPC, the prosecution is required to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the deceased was subjected to cruelty or harassment by the accused.”
The court said this while setting aside the judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court and that of the trial court by which husband Vipin Jaiswal was convicted for committing cruelty on wife Meenakshi Jaiswal, who committed suicide April 4, 1999 on account of alleged physical and mental torture for her failure to bring Rs.50,000 from her parental home.
The trial court had also convicted Vipin’s parents, but they were let off by the high court.
The apex court said that since the prosecution has not been able to prove beyond reasonable doubt this ingredient of harassment or cruelty, “neither of the offences under Sections 498A and 304B, IPC has been made out by the prosecution”.
The court also referred to the suicide chit that Meenakshi had written of her “free will”, in which she blamed her own parents and family members for harassing her husband and said that she was taking the step as she was fed up with her life and the frequent quarrels.
Vipin had told the court that he had found the chit from the dressing table while cleaning the house. (PTI)