Dalbir
Singh Vs. State of U.P [2004] Insc 239 (8 April 2004)
S. Rajendra
Babu, Dr. Ar Lakshmanan & G.P. Mathur.
With Crl.
Appeal No.480 of 1999 G.P. MATHUR,J.
In
view of conflict of opinion in two decisions of this Court rendered in Lakhjit
Singh & Anr. v. State of Punjab 1994
Supp. (1) SCC 173 and Sangarabonia Sreenu v. State of A.P. 1997 (5) SCC 348 these appeals have been directed to
be placed for hearing before a three-Judge Bench.
2. The
accused Dr. Dalbir Singh was charged under Section 302 IPC for having committed
the murder of his wife Vimla and two daughters Km. Neha aged 7 years and Km. Shruti
aged 1= year on 28.3.1991. He was further charged under Section 304-B IPC for
causing dowry death of his wife Vimla and also under Section 498-A IPC for subjecting
her to cruelty.
The IXth
Addl. Sessions Judge, Agra, by his judgment and order dated
20.3.1997 convicted him under Section 302 IPC and sentenced him to death. He
was also convicted under Section 498-A I.P.C. and was sentenced to 3 years R.I.
but was acquitted of the charge under Section 304-B IPC. In appeal the High
Court came to the conclusion that the charge under Section 302 IPC was not
established and accordingly acquitted him for the said offence. The High Court
also came to the conclusion that the accused was guilty under Section 306 IPC
for having abetted commission of suicide by Vimla by setting herself on fire
wherein her two daughters also died. But in view of the fact that no charge
under Section 306 IPC was framed against the accused, the High Court, relying
upon Sangarabonia Sreenu v. State of A.P. 1997 (5) SCC 348, held that the
accused could not be convicted for the said offence. The High Court noticed
that a contrary view had been taken in an earlier decision in Lakhjit Singh v.
State of Punjab 1994 Supp (1) SCC 173 but chose to rely upon the later decision
as the settled view of the said court was that if there was conflict of opinion
in two decisions of this Court rendered by benches of equal strength, it is the
later decision which has to prevail. The conviction of the accused under
Section 498-A IPC and sentence imposed thereunder was, however, maintained..
The accused Dr. Dalbir Singh and also the State of U.P. have preferred appeals against the decision of the
High Court.
3. Dalbir
Singh, a MBBS Doctor, was at the relevant time posted in a government hospital
in Almora in the hills of U.P. (now in the State of Uttaranchal). His wife and two daughters were
living in a flat bearing No. 9/8 Sanjay Palace, ADA Colony in the city of Agra. The accused used to come to Agra almost every fortnightly. PW 13 Jagdish Chandra Agrawal,
who carries on business in Delhi, had
come to Agra and was staying in flat No. 1/3
with Shri Narendra Dhar in the same colony. At about 10.30 a.m. on 28.3.1991, after hearing a commotion, he came out
and saw smoke coming out from a flat situate on the second floor. He went there
and found that the outer door of flat was closed but it got opened after some
pressure had been exerted. He along with others entered the flat and found a
badly burnt girl lying on the sofa. In the inner room there was smoke and a
badly burnt body of a lady and her daughter were found on the double bed. He alongwith
another person then went to PS Hari Parwat and gave information about the
incident to the Head Constable who asked him to give the same in writing which
he did. PW1 DK Jain who lived in the adjoining flat also went inside the flat
of the accused alongwith other persons and had seen the body of the elder
daughter on the sofa and the bodies of Vimla and younger daughter on the double
bed in the inner room. PW 8 Raja Ram Pal Inspector of PS Hari Parwat
immediately reached the scene of occurrence and by that time the fire Brigade
had already arrived and efforts were being made to extinguish the fire. He went
inside the flat, saw the bodies of the three victims and also a cooking gas
cylinder at a distance of about one and half feet from the double bed. In the
same room a diary was found on the dressing table and on three pages thereof
bearing the dates 29th to 31st March a letter had been written by the deceased Vimla
by red pen. This letter has an important bearing in the case and we will refer
to it later on. The ceiling fan, the walls and the roof of the room had become
black on account of smoke. The investigation of the case was done by PW 14 Pramod
Kumar Mishra, Dy. S.P. who took in his possession the gas cylinder with
regulator, diary, a kerosene lamp, burnt portion of some clothes and quilt etc.
After recording statement of witnesses he submitted charge-sheet against the
accused on 21.6.1991. The learned Sessions Judge framed charges under 302,304-B
and 498-A IPC against the accused who pleaded not guilty and claimed to be
tried. In the course of trial the prosecution examined 16 witnesses and filed
some documentary evidence. The accused also examined 6 witnesses in his defence.
4. PW
11 RD Chetwal who is the father of deceased Vimla, has deposed that the
marriage had been arranged through the mediation of a distant relation Piarey Lal
who had informed that the accused no doubt came from a poor family but he was
well qualified. He had given 9-10 tolas of gold ornaments, black and white
T.V., refrigerator, double bed, steel almirah and other articles of domestic
use as presents in marriage. Subsequently he had given a scooter to the accused
when he was posted at Pinhat. Vimla had told him that the accused used to often
complain that the articles given in the marriage were not of his standard. He
used to frequently taunt her in this regard. Thereafter he had given Rs.
25,000/- in cash to the accused for the purpose of purchasing a flat in Agra and for this purpose he had withdrawn money from his
provident fund. He further deposed that he had taken a certificate regarding
withdrawal of money (which he produced in court) in order to show to the
accused that he would not be in a position to pay any more amount and he should
not cause any further harassment to his daughter relating to demand of money.
His wife, who was an income tax payee, had given cash money to Vimla on
different occasions which she had deposited in a bank. PW11 further deposed
that the mother of the accused Dr. Dalbir Singh and a person known as Laktakia
used to frequently assault Vimla and the assaults had increased after the birth
of the second daughter. PW 12 Maya Devi who is the mother of Vimla has also
deposed that according to their status ornaments, clothes and other items had
been given at the time of marriage. Vimla had come to her parental home 2-3
months after the marriage and at that time she had become very lean and thin
and was not keeping well. On inquiries she had informed that the accused Dalbir
used to frequently taunt her that the articles given at the time of the
marriage were not of his standard. She has corroborated the version of PW 11
that an amount of Rs.25,000/- was sent to the accused through PW 9 Inder Pal
Singh for the purpose of buying the flat. She used to give Rs.2,000 to Rs.5,000
in cash every time Vimla came to her parental home. Vimla had come to her
parental home about two and a half months prior to the incident and had told
her that the accused Dalbir would kill her. The wife of PW 9 Inder Pal Singh is
the sister of PW 12 Smt. Maya Devi and he is thus related to PW 11. He has
deposed that the accused was not happy or satisfied with the dowry given at the
time of marriage and used to frequently harass Vimla in that regard. The father
of Vimla had given money to the accused for the purpose of buying the flat but
even thereafter he used to make demand of various items like scooter etc. The
accused had obtained a Power of Attorney of the flat from Vimla in his favour
and used to frequently assault her. Vimla had also complained to him about one
month before the occurrence that she apprehended threat to her life from Dalbir.
5. The
handwriting and the signature of Vimla on the letter recovered from the diary has
been proved by PW 10 Rajender who is the husband of her younger sister. He has
deposed that Vimla used to write letters to his wife Suman and thus he was
familiar with her handwriting. The letter has been quoted in extenso in the
judgment of the High Court. This letter was written in Hindi by Vimla to her
husband whom she has addressed as 'Dear Dalbir' and expresses the feelings of a
wife who is being constantly harassed by a greedy husband on account of alleged
inadequacy of dowry and it is a pathetic reading. It is difficult to convey the
same feelings by translating it into English. In nutshell what she has written
is that he (Dalbir) had constantly harassed her by taunting her almost everyday
on the issue of dowry. He had been complaining that the double bed was of very
cheap quality; that the steel almirah was of very light quality; that her
father had given a black and white T.V. and not a colour T.V; that the sofaset
was of very inferior type and that the suits given to him were of very cheap
quality. He had also been complaining that no scooter had been given at the
time of marriage and that the ornaments were very cheap and light. She had been
bearing all this for several years in the hope and expectation that he would
improve himself but he had taken undue advantage of her patience.
She
had been tolerating the frequent assaults made by him but she cannot bear the
beating caused to Neha (daughter) who was still very young and it was the time
for her to play. Therefore she was taking away Neha and Shruti as well along
with her. In the second paragraph she has written that now he can marry again
wherein he can amass lot of dowry and have several sons which would make his
mother happy. She did not want to say anything against Pappu (Laktakia) but God
will certainly see him for the assaults made by him upon her. Thereafter she
has said that he did not allow her to wear the ornaments given by her father as
he thought that their value will be reduced if she wore them. If he had even
small amount of human values left in him, the said ornaments be given to Santo Devi
widowed daughter of her Shanti Bua and if she was not prepared to accept the same
it may be donated to any Anathashram. In the last paragraph she has written
that she would pray to God that he may always remain happy and he should not
behave with anybody else in the same manner in which he had behaved with her.
6. In
his statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C. and also in the written statement filed
by him (in accordance with Section 233(2) Cr.P.C.) the accused admitted that
the aforesaid letter was written by Vimla and it is in her hand-writing. The
contents of the letter are clearly admissible under Section 32 of the Evidence
Act as the statement therein has been made by the deceased Vimla as to the
cause of her death or as to any of the circumstances or transaction which
resulted in her death. The reading of the letter shows that the same has been
written by a person who is completely fed up with the demands of dowry and the
taunting behaviour of the husband. It appears that the demands, harassment and
the cruel treatment meted out to her, further aggravated after the birth of
second daughter. The testimony of PW 9 Inder Pal Singh, PW 11 RC Chetwal and PW
12 Smt. Maya Devi shows that the accused had been constantly harassing Vimla as
he was not satisfied with the dowry given at the time of marriage and used to
make frequent complaints regarding the same. Their testimony further shows that
on account of constant demands, father of Vimla later on gave Rs.25,000/- in
cash to the accused for the purpose of buying a flat and thereafter gave a colour
T.V. and a scooter. Thus from the evidence on record it is fully established
that Vimla had been virtually compelled to take the extreme step of committing
suicide as accused had subjected her to cruelty by constant taunts and mal
treatment relating to demand of dowry.
7. The
accused in his statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C. and also in the written
statement filed under Section 233(2) Cr. P.C. has stated that Vimla had
developed illicit relationship with someone and for this he had scolded her and
had further said that he would complain about it to her father and then she had
said that if he would speak anything to her father she would commit suicide. He
has led some evidence to show that he had deposited money in the account of Vimla
in two banks when he was posted at Almora. DW 2 Sh. G.K. Malhotra has proved
that there was a credit balance of Rs.1113/- in the account of Vimla in UCO
Bank. Similarly DW4 A.K. Dubey has deposed that there was a credit balance of
Rs.45,000/- in her name in the District Co-operative bank. The evidence shows
that the accused was posted at remote places after marriage and for the last
about one and half years he was posted at Almora. He was placed under
suspension on 10.1.1991 (prior to the incident) and thereafter he came to Agra
and started living there. It appears that on account of his posting to some
small and remote places, he had purchased a flat in Agra where his wife and
children were living. It was, therefore, natural on his part to keep a bank
account at Agra and the same was in the name of Vimla so that she could operate
the same for meeting the household expenses. He has also stated that he used to
remit money out of his salary account from Almora to Agra by bank draft.
The
fact that there was an account in the name of Vimla in which there was a credit
balance of Rs.45,000/- does not in any manner discredit the prosecution case
regarding the harassment caused to her relating to the demand of dowry,
taunting behaviour and also frequent assaults to her and also to his daughter Neha.
8. The
High Court has given good reasons for holding that the charge under section 302
IPC was not established. The accused could not have set his wife and daughters
on fire inside the room and then escaped from there as in that event he could
not have bolted the door of the flat and closed it from inside. This shows that
the death of Vimla and her two daughters took place due to commission of
suicide by Vimla by setting herself on fire.
Probably
she opened the knob of the gas cylinder and after some gas had leaked out and
had got collected in the room, it was ignited. The letter written by Vimla also
leads to the inference that it is a case of suicide and not of murder. Having
carefully perused the evidence adduced by the prosecution and other
circumstances of the case, we are in agreement with the High Court that the
prosecution has not succeeded in establishing the charge under Section 302 IPC
against the accused. The marriage having taken place on 22.11.1983 i.e. more
than seven years earlier to the incident, the learned Sessions Judge had
rightly acquitted the accused for the offence under section 304-B IPC.
9.
Regarding the charge under Section 498-A IPC, the High Court has recorded the
following finding:- "So far as the charge under section 498-A of the IPC
is concerned, the letter written by Vimla Ex. Ka9 is very specific and speaks
volumes against the appellant to indicate that the appellant had been teasing
his wife on the question of presents which had been given to him at the time of
marriage. It is not possible to accept the suggestion of the accused and the
evidence in that regard that this letter had been written by Vimla to avoid her
badnami. Consequently, we have no reason to disbelieve the contents of this
letter. It may be noticed that even R.D. Chetwal PW 11 and Smt. Mayadevi PW 12
had said that the accused used to complain about the dowry. It is, therefore,
clear that on account of complaints of Dalbir Singh, Vimla not only committed
suicide but she had also put her two daughters on fire. Accordingly, in our
view the charge against the appellant under Section 498-A has been
substantiated on the evidence on record. The fact that there was considerable
money in the bank account of Smt. Vimla which the accused used to remit by Bank
Drafts does not in any manner affect the evidence relating to the complaints of
the accused amounting to cruelty which he used to meet out to his wife on the
question of the items which had been given to him at the time of marriage.
Hence,
the conviction and sentence of the appellant under Section 498-A of IPC is to
be maintained."
10.
The evidence on record, the gist of which has been mentioned above,
conclusively establishes that the accused had been constantly teasing and
harassing his wife Vimla as he was wholly dissatisfied with the dowry given at
the time of marriage and he wanted more money and some other articles to be
given to him by her parents. Thus the charge under Section 498-A is fully
established.
11.
The High Court was further of the opinion that the evidence on record clearly established
the charge against the accused under Section 306 IPC and he could be convicted
and sentenced for the said offence. However, in view of the fact that no charge
under Section 306 IPC had been framed and there was conflict of opinion in the
two decisions of this Court rendered by Benches of equal strength and as in
such a situation a later decision was to be followed, the High Court came to a
conclusion that the accused cannot be convicted under Section 306 IPC. On this
basis the conviction and sentence of accused under Section 498-A IPC alone were
maintained.
12.
The main question which requires consideration is whether in a given case is it
possible to convict the accused under Section 306 IPC if a charge for the said
offence has not been framed against him. In Lakhjit Singh & Anr. v. State
of Punjab (supra) the accused were charged under Section 302 IPC and were
convicted and sentenced for the said offence both by the trial Court and also
by the High Court. This Court in appeal came to the conclusion that the charge
under Section 302 IPC was not established. The Court then examined the question
whether the accused could be convicted under Section 306 IPC and in that
connection considered the effect of non- framing of charge for the said
offence. It was held that having regard to the evidence adduced by the
prosecution, the cross-examination of the witnesses as well as the answers
given under Section 313 Cr.P.C. it was established that the accused had enough
notice of the allegations which could form the basis for conviction under
Section 306 IPC. The relevant para of the observation made in para 9 of the
report reads as under:
"The
learned counsel, however, submits that since the charge was for the offence
punishable under Section 302 Indian Penal Code, the accused were not put to
notice to meet a charge also made against them under Section 306 IPC and,
therefore, they are prejudiced by not framing a charge under Section 306 Indian
Penal Code and; therefore, presumption under Section 113-A of Indian Evidence
Act cannot be drawn and consequently a conviction under Section 306 cannot be
awarded. We are unable to agree. The facts and circumstances of the case have
been put forward against the accused under Section 313 Cr. P.C. and when there
was a demand for dowry it cannot be said that the accused are prejudiced
because the cross-examination of the witnesses, as well as the answers given
under Section 313 of the Cr. P.C. would show that they had enough of notice of
the allegations which attract Section 306 Indian Penal Code also."
13. In
Sangaraboina Sreenu v. State of A.P. (supra) the judgment is a very short one
of just two paragraphs. In the first paragraph it is mentioned that the trial
Court convicted the accused under Section 302 IPC on the charge that he poured
kerosene on the body of his wife and set her on fire but the High Court set
aside the said conviction and convicted the accused under Section 306 IPC.
Paragraph 2 of the judgment which contains the whole reasoning for allowing the
appeal reads as under :
"This
appeal must succeed for the simple reason that having acquitted the appellant
of the charge under Section 302 IPC which was the only charge framed against
him the High Court could not have convicted him of the offence under Section
306 IPC. It is true that Section 222 Cr.P.C. entitles a court to convict a
person of an offence which is minor in comparison to the one for which he is
tried but Section 306 IPC cannot be said to be a minor offence in relation to
an offence under Section 302 IPC within the meaning of Section 222 Cr. P.C. for
the two offences are of distinct and different categories. While the basic
constituent of an offence under Section 302 IPC is homicidal death, those of
Section 306 IPC are suicidal death and abetment thereof."
14.
Here the Court proceeded to examine the question that if the accused has been
charged under Section 302 IPC and the said charge is not established by
evidence, would it be possible to convict him under Section 306 IPC having
regard to Section 222 Cr.P.C. Sub-section(1) of Section 222 lays down that when
a person is charged with an offence consisting of several particulars, a
combination of some only of which constitutes a complete minor offence, and
such combination is proved, but the remaining particulars are not proved, he
may be convicted of the minor offence, though he was not charged with it.
Sub-section (2) of the same Section lays down that when a person is charged
with an offence and facts are proved which reduce it to a minor offence, he may
be convicted of the minor offence, although he is not charged with it. Section
222 Cr.P.C. is in the nature of a general provision which empowers the Court to
convict for a minor offence even though charge has been framed for a major
offence. Illustrations (a) and (b) to the said Section also make the position
clear. However, there is a separate chapter in the Code of Criminal Procedure,
namely Chapter XXXV which deals with Irregular Proceedings and their effect.
This chapter enumerates various kinds of irregularities which have the effect
of either vitiating or not vitiating the proceedings. Section 464 of the Code
deals with the effect of omission to frame, or absence of, or error in, charge.
Sub- section (1) of this Section provides that no finding, sentence or order by
a Court of competent jurisdiction shall be deemed invalid merely on the ground
that no charge was framed or on the ground of any error, omission or
irregularity in the charge including any misjoinder of charges, unless, in the
opinion of the Court of appeal, confirmation or revision, a failure of justice
has in fact been occasioned thereby. This clearly shows that any error,
omission or irregularity in the charge including any misjoinder of charges
shall not result in invalidating the conviction or order of a competent Court
unless the appellate or revisional Court comes to the conclusion that a failure
of justice has in fact been occasioned thereby. In Lakhjit Singh (supra) though
Section 464 Cr.P.C. has not been specifically referred to but the Court altered
the conviction from 302 to 306 IPC having regard to the principles underlying
in the said Section. In Sangaraboina Sreenu (supra) the Court completely
ignored to consider the provisions of Section 464 Cr.P.C. and keeping in view Section
222 Cr.P.C. alone, the conviction of the appellant therein under Section 306
IPC was set aside.
15. In
Willie Slaney v. State of Madhya Pradesh AIR 1956 SC 116, a Constitution Bench
examined the question of absence of charge in considerable detail. The
observations made in paras 6 and 7, which are of general application, are being
reproduced below :
"6.
Before we proceed to set out our answer and examine the provisions of the Code,
we will pause to observe that the Code is a code of procedure and, like all
procedural laws, is designed to further the ends of justice and not to
frustrate them by the introduction of endless technicalities. The object of the
Code is to ensure that an accused person gets a full and fair trial along with
certain well-established and well-understood lines that accord with our notions
of natural justice.
If he
does, if he is tried by a competent court, if he is told and clearly
understands the nature of the offence for which he is being tried, if the case
against him is fully and fairly explained to him and he is afforded a full and
fair opportunity of defending himself, then, provided there is 'substantial'
compliance with the outward forms of the law, mere mistakes in procedure, mere
inconsequential errors and omissions in the trial are regarded as venal by the
Code and the trial is not vitiated unless the accused can show substantial
prejudice.
That,
broadly speaking, is the basic principle on which the Code is based.
7. Now
here, as in all procedural laws, certain things are regarded as vital.
Disregard of a provision of that nature is fatal to the trial and at once
invalidates the conviction. Others are not vital and whatever the irregularity
they can be cured; and in that event the conviction must stand unless the Court
is satisfied that there was prejudice. Some of these matters are dealt with by
the Code and wherever that is the case full effect must be given to its
provisions." After analysing the provisions of Sections 225, 232, 535 and
537 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1908 which correspond to Sections 215,
464(2), 464 and 465 of 1973 Code, the Court held as under in para 44 of the
Report :
"Now,
as we have said, sections 225, 232, 535 and 537(a) between them, cover every
conceivable type of error and irregularity referable to a charge that can
possibly arise, ranging from cases in which there is a conviction with no
charge at all from start to finish down to cases in which there is a charge but
with errors, irregularities and omissions in it. The Code is emphatic that
'whatever' the irregularity it is not to be regarded as fatal unless there is
prejudice.
It is
the substance that we must seek. Courts have to administer justice and justice
includes the punishment of guilt just as much as the protection of innocence.
Neither can be done if the shadow is mistaken for the substance and the goal is
lost in a labyrinth of unsubstantial technicalities. Broad vision is required,
a nice balancing of the rights of the State and the protection of society in
general against protection from harassment to the individual and the risks of
unjust conviction.
Every
reasonable presumption must be made in favour of an accused person; he must be
given the benefit of every reasonable doubt. The same broad principles of
justice and fair play must be brought to bear when determining a matter of
prejudice as in adjudging guilt. But when all is said and done what we are
concerned to see is whether the accused had a fair trial, whether he knew what
he was being tried for, whether the main facts sought to be established against
him were explained to him fairly and clearly and whether he was given a full
and fair chance to defend himself.
If all
these elements are there and no prejudice is shown the conviction must stand
whatever the irregularities whether traceable to the charge or to a want of
one."
16.
This question was again examined by a three Judge Bench in Gurbachan Singh v.
State of Punjab AIR 1957 SC 623 in which it was held as under :
"In
judging a question of prejudice, as of guilt, Courts must act with a broad
vision and look to the substance and not to technicalities, and their main
concern should be to see whether the accused had a fair trial, whether he knew
what he was being tried for, whether the main facts sought to be established
against him were explained to him fairly and clearly and whether he was given a
full and fair chance to defend himself."
17.
There are a catena of decisions of this Court on the same lines and it is not
necessary to burden this judgment by making reference to each one of them.
Therefore, in view of Section 464 Cr.P.C., it is possible for the appellate or revisional
Court to convict an accused for an offence for which no charge was framed
unless the Court is of the opinion that a failure of justice would in fact
occasion. In order to judge whether a failure of justice has been occasioned,
it will be relevant to examine whether the accused was aware of the basic
ingredients of the offence for which he is being convicted and whether the main
facts sought to be established against him were explained to him clearly and
whether he got a fair chance to defend himself.
We
are, therefore, of the opinion that Sangarabonia Sreenu (supra) was not
correctly decided as it purports to lay down as a principle of law that where
the accused is charged under Section 302 IPC, he cannot be convicted for the
offence under Section 306 IPC.
18.
The facts and circumstances of the present case may now be examined in the
light of the principle discussed above. The trial Court and also the High Court
have recorded a clear finding and with which we are in complete agreement, that
the accused had started making a demand of dowry soon after marriage. Even
after his father-in-law had given him a colour T.V., a scooter and money for purchasing
the flat, he did not feel satisfied and continued to harass his wife. He used
to frequently taunt her that some of the items given by way of gift at the time
of marriage were of poor quality and were not of his standard. He had also
assaulted his wife and even his seven year old daughter on several occasions.
It was in such circumstances that Vimla took the extreme step of not only
setting herself on fire, but also her two daughters, one of whom was only one
year old. The letter written by Vimla just before taking such an extreme step
speaks volume about the treatment meted out to her by the accused. Therefore,
the basic ingredients of the offence under Section 306 IPC have been
established by the prosecution. These features of the prosecution case were
sought to be established by the prosecution in order to substantiate the charge
under Section 498-A IPC and also for showing that the accused had a motive to
commit the crime of murder for which he was actually charged. The cross-
examination of the witnesses show that every effort was made to demolish the
aforesaid aspect of the prosecution case, namely, that neither any demand of
dowry was made nor any gifts or presents or money was received by the accused
at a subsequent stage and that Vimla had not been subjected to any kind of
harassment or ill-treatment. The next question to be seen is whether the
accused was confronted with the aforesaid features of the prosecution case in
his statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C. His statement runs into six pages where
every aspect of the prosecution case referred to above was put to him. He also
gave a long written statement in accordance with Section 233 (2) Cr.P.C.
wherein he admitted that Vimla committed suicide. He also admitted that the
scooter and colour T.V. were subsequently given to him by his in-laws but came
out with a plea that he had paid money and purchased the same from his in-laws.
There is no aspect of the prosecution which may not have been put to him. We
are, therefore, of the opinion that in view of the material on record, the
conviction under Section 306 IPC can safely be recorded and the same would not
result in failure of justice in any manner. The record shows that the accused
was taken into custody on 29.3.1991 and was released from jail after the
decision of the High Court on 20.3.1997 and thus he has undergone nearly six
years of imprisonment. In our opinion, the period already undergone (as
under-trial and after conviction) would meet the ends of justice.
19.
For the reasons mentioned above, Crl. Appeal No.479 of 1999 filed by Dalbir
Singh is dismissed. Criminal Appeal No.480 of 1999 filed by State of U.P. is
partly allowed and he is convicted under Section 306 IPC and is sentenced to
the period already undergone.
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