- (1.) The question before us is whether the conviction of Kulwant Singh (appellant No.1), his father Gurtehal Singh (appellant no.2) and his mother Harminder Kaur (appellant no.3) for offences punishable under Section 304-B and Section 498-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) ought to be sustained. In our opinion, there is sufficient evidence on record to sustain their conviction. The facts:
(2.) Rachhpal Kaur (deceased) married Kulwant Singh on 18th November 1984. It appears from the record that even though she brought sufficient dowry, she was harassed and maltreated by her husband and in-laws for bringing insufficient dowry. The harassment and maltreatment continued resulting in the intervention by the Panchayat on or about 13th September 1988 to sort out the problem so that the couple could live a normal married life. Unfortunately, the efforts of the Panchayat did not yield any positive result and about a month later on 14th October 1988 Rachhpal Kaur died under suspicious circumstances.
(3.) The record indicates that Rachhpal Kaur was taken to the Civil Hospital, Mandi Gobindgarh after rigor mortis had set in and there was froth coming from her mouth and nose. The appellants submitted an application Exh. DC for taking possession of the corpse without a post-mortem examination but that was not acceded to. A post-mortem examination was conducted on 15th October 1988 which revealed that Rachhpal Kaur was carrying a 26-week fetus. Some parts of her body were then removed, sealed and sent for chemical examination to the Chemical Examiner to the Government of Punjab, Patiala. The report of the Chemical Examiner, received much later, indicated the presence of aluminium phosphide (a pesticide) in the stomach of the deceased and phosphine, a constituent of aluminium phosphide, detected in her liver, spleen, right kidney and right lung. According to Dr. Asha Kiran, Medical Officer, Civil Hospital, Mandi Gobindgarh (PW-1) the contents were sufficient to cause the death of Rachhpal Kaur.;