- (1.) THIS criminal revision is directed against the order impugned passed by Additional Sessions Judge, F.T.C. -I, Garhwa in S.T. No.80 of 2009, arising out of Nagar Untari P.S. Case No.244 of 2008 on 25.5.2009 by which the petition filed on behalf of the petitioner for his discharge under Section 227 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was rejected.
(2.) PROSECUTION story in short, as depicted in the written report presented by the informant, was that he married his sister Shobha Devi with the petitioner in the year 2003. On 24.10.2008 he was informed that his sister had sustained fire injuries and that her in -laws had removed her for better management of her injuries to Garhwa Hospital. When he arrived at Garhwa Hospital, he was again informed that his sister Shobha Devi was referred to RIMS, Ranchi. Subsequent day, he went to RIMS, Ranchi on 25.10.2008 at 6.30 a.m. where the victim Shobha narrated that all the named accused persons including her husband set her body on fire by pouring kerosene oil. She succumbed her injuries at about 11.00 a.m. on the same day. It was further narrated that his sister was bearing pregnancy of about nine months and was already having a daughter of 3 1/2 years. Her husband was a habitual drunker and after her second pregnancy when she underwent ultrasound process to find out the sex of foetus, it was detected that it was of a female child. Occurrence was given effect to in furtherance of common intention of all the accused persons. The matter was reported to Nagar Untari Police Station on 26.10.2008, on the basis of which, a case was registered under Sections 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code against five named accused persons.
(3.) LEARNED Sr. Counsel Mr. Jai Prakash pointed out that the police after investigation of the case submitted chargesheet under Sections 498 - A/306 of the Indian Penal Code only against the petitioner -husband and the other accused persons were not sent up for trial, yet the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate erred by taking cognizance of the offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code against the petitioner, though there was no material in the case diary that the petitionerhusband had committed culpable homicide, which was amounting to murder as the investigating officer after visiting the alleged place of occurrence gathered in his objective finding that the door of the room where the body of the victim was found burnt, was bolted from inside and which was broken open by the neighbors and other people. Even in post -mortem report, no other injury was found on the person of the deceased except burn injuries, which was ante -mortem in nature, caused by flame burn. In the opinion of the Doctor, death was caused due to burn injury. Doctor, who held the post -mortem examination found that the dermo -epedermal burn involved the face, neck, fronto -leteral part of chest of the deceased and it was doubtful as to whether the injured Shobha Devi was in a position to speak and narrate the cause of her injuries on her person to the informant in view of the nature of the burn injuries. Admittedly, there was no allegation of demand of dowry except that the husband petitioner was a habitual drunker and having been fed up with the incorrigible conduct of the husband, Shobha Devi immolated herself and committed suicide.;