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REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1816 OF 2009

Sri Chand and Another ….Appellants

Versus

State of Punjab ....Respondent

J U D G M E N T

M.Y. EQBAL, J.

This  appeal  is  directed  against  judgment  and  order  

dated 24.09.2008 passed by the High Court of Punjab and  

Haryana in Criminal Appeal No.1044 of 1998, whereby the  

High  Court  allowed  appeal  of  one  of  the  four  accused  

persons and dismissed appeal  of  the other  three accused  

persons  (viz.  husband,  father-in-law  and  mother-in-law  of  

deceased  lady).   The  appellants-accused  persons  were  

convicted by the trial court on the charges under Sections  

304-B and 498-A of the Indian Penal Code (in short, ‘IPC’)  

and  directed  each  of  the  accused  persons  to  undergo  

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rigorous imprisonment for a period of ten years with fine of  

Rs.2000/-  each  for  the  former  offence  and  to  undergo  

rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year for the latter  

offence  with  fine  of  Rs.1000/-  each  with  default  clause.  

Prima  facie,  it  will  be  appropriate  to  notice  that  on  the  

appeal  preferred  by  the  aforesaid  three  accused  persons  

under  Article  136  of  the  Constitution,  this  Court  on  

12.5.2009, while directing issuance of notice in the matter,  

confined the appeal to accused nos.2 & 3 and dismissed the  

appeal preferred by the husband-accused no.1.

2. The facts leading to the prosecution story are that on  

18.2.1997, Tarsem Ram alias Tarsem Lal, resident of Village  

Durgapur,  made  a  statement  before  the  S.H.O.  of  Police  

Station Sadar, Nawanshahr that around 1½  months back on  

20.12.1996, his daughter Harpal Kaur alias Palo was married  

to one Jaswant Lal  and though he gave dowry as per  his  

financial capacity, her daughter’s husband and in-laws were  

not  satisfied  with  the  adequacy  thereof.   Whenever  his  

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daughter  would  come  to  her  parental  house,  she  would  

inform the members of her parental family that the behavior  

of  her  husband towards  her  was not  proper.   Tarsem Lal  

impressed upon his son-in-law that the former was a poor  

person and what better gift could he have given to him in  

the marriage was his daughter itself.  On 15.2.1997, when  

his  son-in-law  and  daughter  again  came to  Durgapur,  his  

daughter Harpal Kaur told her parents that her father-in-law  

Sri  Chand,  mother-in-law  Darshan  Kaur,  her  husband’s  

younger brother Nachhatter Lal and her husband Jaswant Lal  

are  harassing  her  saying  that  they  have  not  been  given  

dowry according to their status.  She further informed them  

that she would not go to her matrimonial house as she had  

an  apprehension  that  she  would  be  done  to  death  over  

there.   Tarsem Lal  and his other family members advised  

Jaswant Lal to refrain from harassing Harpal Kuar and also  

explained  their  financial  incapacity  in  meeting  dowry  

demands.  Thereafter, Harpal Kaur and Jaswant Lal left for  

the matrimonial house.

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3. On  18.2.1997,  at  about  10.00  A.M.,  two  unknown  

persons came over to village Durgapur and informed Tarsem  

Lal  that  his  daughter  is  lying  burnt  and  dead  (at  the  

matrimonial house).  Tarsem Lal went over to the house of  

Sarpanch  to  intimate  him,  but  since  Sarpanch  was  not  

available, he along with Daya Singh, Member of Panchayat,  

went over to the matrimonial house of his daughter, where  

they  found  that  Harpal  Kaur  was  lying  dead  due  to  burn  

injuries in the kitchen and none of the family members, viz.,  

her husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law and brother-in-law,  

was found available in the house.  Tarsem Lal related the  

death of his daughter to the dowry and harassment, which  

was  being  caused  to  her  at  the  hands  of  the  aforesaid  

accused persons.  He entertained a feeling that Harpal Kaur  

had  been  done  to  death  by  all  the  accused  by  pouring  

kerosene oil upon her and setting her afire in the kitchen.  

The offence was notified to the police by Tarsem Lal in the  

presence of  Daya  Singh,  which  was  recorded by  a  police  

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official  (PW7-Gurmukh  Singh)  posted  as  SHO,  PS  Sadar,  

Nawanshahr.   

4. Thereafter,  PW7  alongwith  Tarsem  and  Daya  Singh  

went to the spot and prepared inquest report and sent the  

dead  body  for  postmortem  examination  to  Civil  Hospital,  

Nawanshahr.   He seized plastic cane, which was smelling of  

kerosene oil, and a lady shoe and prepared rough site plan  

regarding  the  place  of  occurrence.   He  also  recorded  

statements of the witnesses.  On 21.2.1997, Jaswant Lal, Sri  

Chand and Darshan Kaur accused were produced before the  

aforesaid  SHO  and  on  the  next  day,  Sarpanch  Lal  Singh  

produced Nachhatter Lal (brother of Jaswant Lal) before the  

aforesaid  SHO  and  the  accused  were  arrested.   After  

completion  of  investigation,  chargesheet  was  laid  in  the  

court of the Illaqa Magistrate, who committed this case to  

the Sessions for trial of the accused under Sections 304-B  

and 498A of IPC.

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5. To  substantiate  its  allegations,  the  prosecution  

examined eight witnesses including Dr. Devinder Singh, PW-

1,  who  (along  with  his  colleagues)  conducted  the  

postmortem on the dead body of Harpal Kaur, observed as  

under:-

“It was a body of a young female of about 20  years  of  age wearing  ear  rings  in  both  ears,  burnt bangles over both forearm, a ring in right  ring  finger  and  a  burnt  wrist  watch  not  in  working  condition  on  left  wrist  showing  time  9.50.

Eyes  were  closed  and  congested,  tongue  protruding out hairs of scalp partly burnt and  singing  present.   Body  smelling  of  kerosene.  Body  having  pugilistic  posture,  face  swollen.  Post mortem staining could not be seen upper  part  of  front  of  right  side of  chest,  neck left  part of front of chest, left arm and upper ½ of  left forearm having dermo-epidermal burns.

Line  of  redness  was  present  over  neck  and  front of chest and left arm.  Both lower limbs  were charred, muscles and bones burnt.  Left  knee  joint  charred  and  opened.   Both  feet  charred  and  separated  from  legs.   Front  of  

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abdomen  charred  and  intestine  protruding  from  right lower half.   External genetalis and  perieneal region charred. Right lower 2/3 of the  chest  charred,  underlying  muscles  and  ribs  were  burnt.   Right  lung  exposed  and  burnt,  Right forearm and medial aspect of right arm  charred.   Right  elbow  charred  and  opened.  Lower ½ of left forearm and left hand charred.  Whole  of  back  was  charred  except  dermo- epidermal  burns  were  present  over  left  scapular and shoulder region.”

6. The accused persons sheltered themselves under the  

usual  plea of false implication.   Trial  Court placed implicit  

reliance upon the prosecution presentation in the statements  

of PW-3 Tarsem Lal and PW-4 Surjit Kaur and discarded the  

plea of innocence put forward by the accused and proceeded  

to  convict  and  sentence  the  accused  persons  on  the  

aforementioned charges.

7. Aggrieved by the decision of the trial court, all the four  

accused  persons  preferred  appeal  before  the  High  Court,  

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which after hearing learned counsel on either side allowed  

the  appeal  of  Nachhatar  Lal  and dismissed the  appeal  of  

other accused persons namely, Jaswant Lal, Sri Chand and  

Darshan Kuar,  who have approached this Court by way of  

filing petition for special leave to appeal (SLP) under Article  

136 of the Constitution.  As stated hereinabove, the SLP of  

Jaswant  Lal,  accused no.1 (husband of  the deceased)  has  

been dismissed by this Court at the notice stage itself and  

while  granting  leave  qua  other  two  accused  persons  

(parents-in-law of  the  deceased-victim)  on  18.9.2009,  this  

Court directed for release of these two appellants on bail to  

the satisfaction of the trial court.

8. We  have  heard  learned  counsel  for  the  parties  at  

length.  It has been contended on behalf of the appellants  

that  the  High  Court  while  dismissing  the  appeal  of  the  

appellants did not notice that the investigating agency had  

not been able to place on record any evidence to the effect  

that the appellants subjected deceased Harpal Kaur to any  

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dowry related torture or that they had any role in her death  

by burning.  It is further contended that the appellants were  

residing separately from the husband of deceased and had  

nothing to gain from the alleged dowry demand.  It is further  

alleged that deceased has committed suicide because of the  

reason that she was not satisfied with the quality of the life  

as she was having at the matrimonial home and she found  

that  her  husband  was  not  potent  enough  to  satisfy  her  

sexually.   It  has  also  been  contended  on  behalf  of  the  

appellants that the High Court failed to appreciate that the  

prosecution  plea  is  not  supported  by  any  independent  

evidence which could corroborate the testimony on oath of  

parents of the deceased in the context of the allegation that  

deceased was subjected to dowry related torture and she  

was burnt to death.

9. Per  contra,  Mr.  Ajay  Bansal,  learned  Addl.  Advocate  

General  appearing for  the State of Punjab,  submitted that  

the two courts below have recorded the concurrent findings  

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of  facts  on  true  and  correct  appreciation  of  evidence  

produced by the prosecution.  It has been contended that it  

is  a case where a young girl  had been killed in the most  

brutal  and  inhuman  manner  by  the  accused  within  few  

months  of  her  marriage.   The  accused  persons  poured  

kerosene  on  the  deceased  and  set  her  on  fire  and  the  

medical report suggests that she remained on fire for near  

about two hours and after putting the deceased on death,  

the  appellants  fled  away from the  spot  without  informing  

anyone.   It  has  been  specifically  stated  by  parents  of  

deceased that their daughter was subject to cruelties from  

the  hands  of  the  accused  persons  for  bringing  the  

insufficient dowry.  It has been vehemently contended by the  

State that non presence of the accused persons at the place  

of occurrence, when the father of the deceased along with  

panchayat  member  reached  there,  suggests  the  clear  

involvement of the appellants in the crime.   Furthermore,  

plea of living separately stood falsified by the rough site plan  

prepared by the concerned police official, wherein the place  

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of  occurrence  has  been  shown  to  be  the  kitchen  of  the  

appellant Sri Chand (father-in-law of the deceased).    

10. After hearing both sides and closely perusing papers,  

we are of the opinion that the present case has acceptable  

evidence that all  the accused persons were found missing  

from their house at the time when Investigating Officer and  

father of the deceased  reached there in the company of a  

member  of  the  Panchayat.   There  is  also  convincing  

evidence to the effect that the appellants did not intimate  

the death of Harpal Kaur to members of her parental family.  

The fact that the accused persons were found missing from  

the  house  and  also  the  fact  that  they  refrained  from  

intimating the death of Harpal to her parents are two strong  

facts  which  indicate  the  guilty  state  of  mind  of  the  

appellants, who cannot escape liability for causing death of  

Harpal while at the matrimonial house.  Learned Single Judge  

of the High Court, in the impugned order, rightly observed  

that  Besides  noticing  that  the  matrimonial  ‘bliss’  for  the  

deceased  lady  lasted  only  for  few  months,  it  requires  

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pertinent  notice  that  the  legal  accountability  for  the  well  

being of a bride squarely lies upon her husband and other  

members of his parental family who are joint in mess and  

residence with the couple.  In the present case, the accused  

other than Jaswant Lal had made an unsuccessful attempt to  

plead that they were separate in mess and residence from  

the couple but  they have refrained from indicating where  

exactly they were putting up separately.  They also did not  

opt to enter the witness box to testify their innocence by a  

statement on oath.

11. In the present case,  appellant Sri  Chand has tried to  

raise a plea of alibi by pleading that he was in employment  

elsewhere.  It is in the statement of the Investigating Officer  

that  Sri  Chand  was  an  employee  in  a  Sugar  Mill  at  

Nawanshahr.   However,  the  concerned  appellant  did  not  

adduce any evidence to prove that he was at his place of job  

at the relevant point of time.  He could have adduced the  

best  documented  evidence  by  producing  the  attendance  

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record of the Sugar Mill.  However, Sri Cahnd did not take  

any steps to prove that plea of alibi.

12. So  far  as  Darshan  Kaur  (wife  of  Sri  Chand  and  

deceased’s  mother-in-law)  is  concerned,  she did  not  even  

raise a plea of alibi because there is not even an averment  

that she was in job elsewhere.   Furthermore, there is no  

evidence  whatsoever  to  prove  that  Jaswant  Lal  and  his  

deceased  wife  Harpal  Kaur  were  separate  in  mess  and  

residence from the other accused persons.  In the impugned  

judgment, the High Court has rightly observed that:-

“1.  Harpal  Kaur  (wife  of  Jaswant  Lal  and  daughter-in-law of Sri Chand and Darshan Kaur,  appellants) died an unnatural death within few  months of her marriage;

2. The appellants are not even averred to have  intimated death of Harpal Kaur to members of  hear natal family;

3. The appellants were found missing from their  house  when  Tarsem  Lal,  father  of  deceased  

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lady,  Daya  Singh,  Member  Panchayat  and  Gurmukh Singh, Investigating Officer went over  there;

4. The appellants are not even proved to have  been present at the time inquest proceedings  were held and the post-mortem examination of  dead-body of Harpal Kaur was conducted.”

13. In  view of  the  above,  we do  not  find  any  reason to  

interfere with the decision of the High Court.  The Criminal  

Appeal is accordingly dismissed and the bail  bonds of the  

accused-appellants  stand  cancelled.   They  shall  surrender  

forthwith to serve out the remaining period of the sentence,  

failing which, the trial court is directed to take appropriate  

steps for sending them to prison to undergo the remaining  

period of sentence.

…………………………….J. (M.Y. Eqbal)

…………………………….J.

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(Abhay Manohar Sapre) New Delhi, September 19, 2014.

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