- (1.) Malkiat Singh, the appellant has brought this appeal against the judgment dated 10.7.2001 of his conviction for an offence punishable under section 306 IPC and the order on sentence of the same date vide which the appellant has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of five years and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/- with further rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year in default of payment of the fine. The case registered against the appellant at Police Station, Laddar, District Ludhiana, vide FIR No.142 dated 4.5.1998, is as under: Complainant, Gurmit Singh is a resident of house No. 1393, Block No. 17, Mohalla Azad Nagar, Dhuri Line, Ludhiana. His sister, Harjit Kaur was married with the appellant in the year 1989. During the last one and a half years prior to her death, she was cohabiting with the appellant separately with her children in Gali No. 6, Santokh Nagar, Ludhiana by constructing their house. She had a daughter, aged 8 years and a son, aged 4 years from the wedlock. The appellant used to beat her daily under the influence of liquor. He neither earned anything nor maintained the children. Whenever Harjit Kaur tried to win him away from liquor, the appellant used to beat her. Harjit Kaur had been complaining in this regard to her parents as well as the complainant whenever she used to visit her parental home. However, the complainant and his parents used to send Harjit Kaur back to her matrimonial home after counselling her. The harassment of Harjit Kaur (deceased) at the hands of the appellant, however, did not stop. On 3.5.1998, at about 12.30 PM, the complainant received a telephone call from someone from Mohalla Santokh Nagar, who told the complainant that condition of Harjit Kaur was serious. On this, the complainant visited the matrimonial home of the deceased and found her lying there in serious condition. He asked her as to what had happened. She could not, however, give any reply. At that time, accused was also sitting besides her. The complainant then took the deceased in an auto-rickshaw to Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana. The accused neither helped the complainant in shifting Harjit Kaur to the auto-rickshaw nor accompanied him to the hospital. On the same day at about 6.30 PM, Harjit Kaur died. While lodging the report, the complainant told the police that Harjit Kaur killed herself by consuming some poisonous material being fed-up with her ill treatment at the hands of the accused. Since the parents of the complainant were away to Delhi on that day, the FIR was lodged on 4.5.1998 on their return.
(2.) After conducting the inquest proceedings at Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, Jaswant Singh, ASI got post-mortem examination conducted on the dead body of Harjit Kaur at Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, where he had sent the same through constable Devinder Singh. Dr. V.K.Gagneja conducted the post-mortem examination on the dead body of Harjit Kaur. He preserved the viscera and the same was got examined from Chemical Examiner, Punjab, Patiala, who had reported detection of aluminum phosphide in the stomach, its contents as well as large and small intestines. He also noticed phospine gas in liver, spleen, kidney and blood. The death was opined as a result of consumption of aluminum phosphide poison. The accused was arrested on 5.5.1998 by Jaswinder Singh, SI. The necessary investigation in the matter was conducted by him and on completion of the investigation, challan was prepared
(3.) Charge for an offence punishable under section 306 IPC was framed against the accused vide orders dated 13.10.1998 to which the accused pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.;