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CASE NO.: Appeal (crl.)  1285 of 1999

PETITIONER: K.R.SOORACHARI

RESPONDENT: STATE OF KARNATAKA

DATE OF JUDGMENT: 13/04/2005

BENCH: B.P.SINGH & S.B.SINHA

JUDGMENT: J U D G M E N T

                        This appeal by special leave has been preferred by the appellant  against the judgment and order of the High Court of Karnataka at  Bangalore dated 16th April, 1999 whereby the appellant has been found  guilty of the offences under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code (I.P.C.)  and Sections 3, 4 and 6 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. He has been  sentenced to undergo one year rigorous imprisonment on each count and to  pay a fine of Rs.10,000/- under the Dowry Prohibition Act. The sentences  have been directed to run concurrently.         The brief facts of the case may be noticed :-           The  appellant along with his wife and son was put up for trial before the  Sessions Judge, Chikamagalur. They  

                       -2- were charged under Sections 302/34, 201, 203, 498A and 304B, I.P.C. as  also under Sections 3, 4 and 6 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.  The son of  the appellant was accused No.1 (hereinafter referred to as A-1) while his  wife was accused No.3 (hereinafter referred to as A-3).          The case of the prosecution is that A-1 was married to the  deceased on 27.5.1990. On 4.10.1990 her dead body was found near a  river. The next morning at about 10.00 A.M.  A-1 lodged a report at the  police station to the effect that on the earlier night the deceased had gone  out of the house to clean utencils but did not return, and since it was  raining, the search did not yield any result. In the morning they found her  dead body near a river. On the basis of the report lodged by A-1, the police  ought to have swung into action, but it appears from the judgments of the  Courts below that the police did not act with promptitude as a result of  which much of the evidence was lost. However the autopsy on the dead  body of the deceased revealed the following injuries :-                                     "1.     Five irregular contusion injuries present on the left  shoulder, each measuring 1-1/2 cm x 2 cm.         2.      Contusion injury measuring 3" x 2" on the right  hypothdrine region.

                       -3-         3.      Heamotoma measuring 1" x 2" on the right frontal area  present.         4.      Sub durral heamotoma measuring 2" x 1" on the right  frontal area of brain.         5.      Intra corebral heamorrage on the right frontal lobe.         6.      Haemoragic area found on the lower part of anterior  part of liver."         As noticed earlier, A-1 the son,   A-2 appellant and A-3 the wife  of the appellant were put up for trial before the Sessions Court. By its

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judgment and order dated 14th February, 1995 the Trial Court found A-1  guilty of the offence under Section 498A,  I.P.C. but acquitted him of all  other charges. The appellant and A-3 were acquitted of all the charges  levelled against them. The State of Karnataka preferred Criminal Appeal  No.868 of 1995 against the acquittal of the three accused persons of the  charges under Sections 302, 201 etc. while A-1 preferred Criminal Appeal  No.125 of 1995 against his conviction for the offence under Section 498A  IPC. Both the appeals were heard together and were disposed of by a  common judgment Only the appellant (A-2) has impugned the judgment of  the High Court convicting him for offences punishable under Section 498A  IPC and Sections 3, 4 and 6 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.                          -4-         We may notice that the High Court allowed the State’s appeal so  far the appellant is concerned to the extent that it found him guilty of the  offences under Sections 498A IPC and Sections 3, 4 and 6 of the Dowry  Prohibition Act. The State’s appeal as against A-3 was dismissed by the  High Court, and the appeal against acquittal of A-1 on other charges was  also dismissed.  Both A-1 and A-2 preferred a special leave petition before  this Court, but the special leave petition in so far as it related to A-1 was  dismissed at the admission stage itself.         Shri S.N.Bhat, learned counsel for the appellant submitted that  there was no justification for the High Court to set aside the order of  acquittal passed in favour of the appellant. He submitted that so far as the  offence under Section 498A IPC is concerned, there is no material on  record to support the aforesaid charge.  The evidence only disclosed that  A-1 husband of the deceased entertained a suspicion about her chastity and  that was the reason why she was harassed by him. There is no evidence  whatsoever to connect the appellant with the offence under Section 498A  IPC. He also submitted that so far as the offences under Sections 3,4 and 6  of the Dowry Prohibition Act are concerned, the High Court was not  justified in setting  

                       -5- aside the finding of fact recorded by the trial court in favour of the  appellant. We have, therefore, considered the evidence on record placed  before us by counsel for the parties.         So far as charge under Section 498A IPC is concerned, we are  inclined to agree with the learned counsel for the appellant that there is  really no material to connect the appellant with that offence. In fact the  High Court has not even noticed any such evidence which may justify the  conviction of the appellant under Section 498A IPC. We are, therefore, of  the view that the appellant is entitled to acquittal so far the charge under  Section 498A IPC is concerned. This takes us to a consideration of the  evidence with regard to the offences under the Dowry Prohibition Act.  Four witnesses have deposed in support of the prosecution. Pws 1, 2, 4 and  7 are the four witnesses whose evidence was considered by the Trial Court  as also by the High Court. The High Court has come to the conclusion that  the evidence of these witnesses conclusively proves the offences under the  Dowry Prohibition Act, and the Trial Court really gave no cogent reason  for disbelieving these witnesses and acquitting  the appellant.         The Trial Court has considered the evidence on this aspect of the  matter in paragraph 18 of its judgment. It has                          -6- noticed the evidence of PW-1, the step father of the deceased that there was a  demand of Rs.20,000/- and some ornaments from the appellant at the time of  marriage negotiations. He expressed his inability to pay such a big sum and  therefore, the amount was reduced from Rs.20,000/- to Rs.10,000/-. As regards  the ornaments, it was decided that only a kapali ring will be given to A-1 and a  mangalsutra shall be given to the bride. In view of the agreement, PW-1 sent  the amount to the appellant through his wife PW-2 and his nephew’s wife  Yashoda PW-7. They paid the amount to the appellant. PW-2, the wife of PW- 1 corroborated the testimony of PW-1 and stated that three days after the  negotiations she had gone to pay Rs.10,000/- to the appellant along with PW-7  and paid the amount to the appellant. PW-4 has substantially corroborated the

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testimony of PW-1 and PW-2. PW-4 is the husband of PW-7. He has however,  not stated that his wife PW-7 went with PW-2 to pay the sum of Rs.10,000/- to  the appellant. PW-7 Yashoda however, deposed the fact that the demand of  Rs.20,000/- by way of dowry was reduced to Rs.10,000/- but she has also not  stated anything about her going with PW-2 to pay the amount to the appellant.  On the basis of such evidence on record the Trial Court concluded that except  the oral testimony of PW-1 and PW-2 there was no other evidence on record to  show that three days  

                       -7- after the marriage negotiations PW-1 had sent Rs.10,000/- through his wife and  PW-7 to be paid to the appellant. In view of these circumstances, the Trial  Court came to the conclusion that neither there was any demand for dowry nor  was any amount paid to the appellant by way of dowry. Thus the prosecution  had failed to establish that PW-1 paid to the appellant a sum of Rs.10,000/- by  way of dowry.          The High Court found that the reasoning of the Trial Court was  unsustainable. We have also considered the evidence on record and we find  that four witnesses have consistently deposed about the manner in which the  negotiations were held and how the demand of Rs.20,000/- was reduced to  Rs.10,000/- and the further fact that the said amount of Rs.10,000/- was paid to  the appellant through PW-2 and PW-7. The only deficiency in the evidence  which the Trial Court found was that PW-7 did not state in her deposition that  she had gone with PW-2 to hand over the amount to the appellant. In view of  the other evidence on record this fact by itself did not justify the  conclusion  that the prosecution had failed to prove its case. The evidence on record is quite  consistent and PW-2, in fact, stated that she had gone with PW-7 to pay the  amount. It is not the case of the defence that PW-7 denied having gone to the  appellant. Much was sought to be made of  

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the omission  on her part to mention that she had gone with PW-7 to pay the  amount to the appellant. The finding recorded by the Trial Court in our view  completely ignores the cogent and reliable evidence on record which proves the  case of the prosecution that dowry was demanded and paid.  Such a finding  ignoring relevant evidence can not be sustained even in an appeal against  acquittal.

       We, therefore, find that the conviction of the appellant under the  Dowry Prohibition Act is fully justified. We, therefore, set aside the conviction  of the appellant under Section 498A IPC but affirm his conviction and sentence  under Sections 3,4 and 6 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

       The appeal is, accordingly, partly allowed, setting aside the  conviction under Section 498A IPC, but upholding the conviction and sentence  under Sections 3, 4 and 6 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

       The appellant is on bail. His bail bonds are cancelled.  He shall  forthwith surrender to his sentence  

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failing which the State shall take necessary steps to apprehend him to serve out  the remainder of his sentence.