T.NANDAKUMAR SINGH, J. - (1.)THE appellant/accused, Sri Bipul Choudhury, calls in question the legality of the judgment passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, South Tripura, Udaipur on 11. 11. 2002 in S. T. No. 21 (ST/s)/2001 convicting the appellant/accused under Section 302 of the Inidan Penal Code (for short 'ipc') and sentencing him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/-, in default, to suffer additional imprisonment for two years.
(2.)HEARD Mr. S. Sarkar, learned counsel appearing for the appellant and Mr. A. Ghosh, learned additional public prosecutor for the State-respondent.
The case of the prosecution is mentioned in details in the impugned judgment dated 11. 11. 2002 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, South Tripura, Udaipur. The prosecution version, in a nutshell, is recapitulated for deciding this criminal appeal. Sipra Das, the daughter of the informant Sri Birendra Kumar Das (P. W. No. 1), was given in marriage with Sri Bipul Choudhury (appellant/accused) of West Jalefa according to Hindu Rites, sometime in 1995. After her marriage, Sipra Das was residing in the joint family consisting of her husband Sri Bipul Choudhury (appellant/accused); father-in-law Chitta Ranjan Choudhury; mother-in-law Smti. Usha Rani Choudhury and elder brother-in-law (elder brother of the appellant/accused) Sri Babul Choudhury. After three months of the marriage, the appellant/accused Bipul Choudhury; her mother-in-law Smti. Usha Rani Choudhury and her elder brother-in-law Sri Babul Choudhury demanded further marriage dowry of Rs. 30,000/-alleged to have been deposited in the name of the Sipra Das (Choudhury) in fixed deposit in a nationalized bank, and in order to fulfill the said demand of additional marriage dowry, the appellant/accused Bipul Choudhury; the elder brother-in-law Sri Babul Choudhury and mother-in-law Smti. Usha Rani Choudhury tortured Sipra Das (Choudhury) physically and mentally on different occasions. In order to make the life of Sipra Das (Choudhury) happy and peaceful in the matrimonial home, the father of Sipra Das (Choudhury), Sri Birendra Kumar Das (P. W. No. 1) gave some articles and money from time to time but he could not satisfy the greed of the in-laws, i. e. the appellant/accused Bipul Choudhury; elder brother-in-law Sri Babul Choudhury and mother-in-law Smti. Usha Rani Choudhury. Sipra Das (Choudhury) also narrated her misfortune and the physical and mental tortures to her by the appellant/accused Bipul Choudhury; her elder brother-in-law Sri Babul Choudhury and mother-in-law Smti. Usha Rani Choudhury to her father Sri Birendra Kumar Das; her step mother Smti. Chhabi Das (P. W. No. 17); her aunt Smti. Jayanti Roy (P. W. No. 3) and one Sri Dipen Choudhury (P. W. No. 8 ). Sipra Das (Choudhury); and also sent letters to her father Sri Birendra Kumar Das, stating that she had been subjected to mental and physical tortures by the appellant/accused, her elder brother-in-law Sri Babul Choudhury and mother-in-law Smti. Usha Rani Choudhury for fulfilling their greed and also that she preferred death rather than living in a miserable condition in the family of her in-laws. Three letters of deceased Sipra Das (Choudhury) addressed to her father Sri Birendra Kumar Das (P. W. No. 1) was exhibited and marked Exbt. M. O. 1 (series) during the course of trial.

(3.)ON 14. 02. 2000 at about 07-30 p. m. , Mr. A. R. Banik, the Officer-in-charge of Sabroom Police Station received a written information from the Sub-Divisional Medical Officer, Sabroom that a dead body of one Sipra Das (Choudhury) was lying in the hospital and he was requested for arranging postmortem examination. The Officer-in-charge of Sabroom Police Station after registering a case of unnatural death being No. 2/2000 under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short 'cr. P. C') directed Mr. Indrajit Sinha, Sub-Inspector, to enquire into the matter. Sri Indrajit Sinha (P. W. No. 19) held an inquest of the dead body of Sipra Das (Choudhury) in the Emergency Room of the hospital as identified by Chitta Ranjan Choudhury (father-in-law of the deceased), Tapan Choudhury and Babul Choudhury (elder brother-in-law of the deceased ). On 15. 02. 2000 postmortem examination of the dead body of deceased Sipra Das (Choudhury) was done by a team of Doctors, namely, Dr. Dipankar Ghosh (P. W. No. 13), Dr. Bidyut Das (P. W. No. 14) and Dr. Gautam Majumder (P. W. No. 21 ).