SHEO KUMAR SINGH,J. - (1.) Instant criminal appeal has been filed against the judgment and order 21.04.1999 passed by Special/Additional Sessions Judge, Sitapur, in Sessions Trial No.489 of 1995 arising out of Case Crime No.266 of 1994, under Sections 498-A, 304-B IPC and Section ? of the Dowry Prohibition Act, Police Station Sandana District Sitapur, whereby and whereunder the appellants Pattu, Kailash, Mannu and Smt. Munni Devi were found guilty under Section 304-B IPC and were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of ten years.
(2.) Here in the present case a young innocent lady was subjected to dowry death just within one and half years' of her marriage by the husband and in-laws and after lodging the first information report the provisions of Criminal Procedure Code were set into motion. The contents of the first information report reveal that the daughter of the complainant Swami Dayal was married to Pattu son of Kailash just before one and half year of the incident. After the marriage when the deceased visited the house of in-laws and came back to the parental house she informed her parents that her husband and in-laws had been regularly asking and pressurizing for bringing cycle and transistor in dowry and for non-fulfillment of their demand she was subjected to cruelty and ill treatment in the in-laws house. A lady named Bitali daughter of Jagdamba from the village of the complainant was also married to the same village where the daughter of the complainant was married and on 06.12.1994 at about 12.00 in the day Bitali came back to her parental house, met with the complainant and communicated the death of Guddi, the daughter of the complainant. She had also communicated that the deceased was continuously tortured by the members of the husband's family and her dead body was found to be hanging in the room. After receiving the information, the complainant lodged the first information report Ext. Ka-1 at about 1935 hours on 06.12.1994 where it was registered at case Crime No.266 of 1994 under Sections 498-A, 304-B IPC and ? of the Dowry Prohibition Act against all the accused-appellants. During investigation, Panchayatnama was prepared by the Investigating Officer and after preparing the site map the dead body of the deceased was sent to postmortem and after completing the investigation charge sheet was submitted against all the accused-appellants. Learned Chief Judicial Magistrate took cognizance and committed the case to the Court of Sessions. Learned Sessions Judge summoned the accused and charged them under the aforementioned sections for which they pleaded not guilty and claimed for trial.
(3.) In order to prove the prosecution case, PW-1 Swami Dayal, PW-2 Ruchi daughter of Swami Dayal, PW-3 Smt. Bitali, PW-4 Dy. S.P. Jograj Singh, PW-5 Nagendra Sharma, Tehsildar, PW-6 Constable Sabhajeet Singh, PW-7 Dy. S.P. Rajendra Singh and PW-8 Dr. S.K. Sinha were examined.;