Issue for consideration
Whether the High Court committed any error in passing the impugned judgment holding the husband and in-laws guilty for the offence punishable u/ss. 498A, 304B read with 34 IPC. Evidence – Circumstantial evidence – Dowry demand by husband and in-laws – Commission of suicide by victim-wife on account of consumption of poison – However, post mortem report silent as to the exact cause of death and the viscera report silent as to traces of poison being found therein – Effect of, on prosecution case: Held: Considering the overall evidence on record, in the absence of any positive viscera report, it could not be said that the prosecution failed to establish its case – Absence of detection of poison in the viscera report alone need not be treated as a conclusive proof of the fact that the victim has not died of poison – Intrinsic evidence on record to indicate that the case is one of suicide by poison – Deposition of Medical Officer who performed the post mortem that odour material with pungent smell found in the stomach – Expert opined that in cases of consumption of poison, such kind of pungent smell would be found – Furthermore, viscera was received by the FSL for chemical analysis after five months – Medical Officer admitted that if there is any delay in forwarding the viscera sample for chemical examination, the poison may not be detected – In view thereof, the concurrent findings by the courts below holding the husband and the in-laws guilty for the offence punishable u/ss. 498A, 304B read with 34 IPC not interfered with. [Paras 23, 26, 27, 30, 38, 39]
Headnote
LIST OF CITATIONS AND OTHER REFERENCES
Mahabir Mandal v. State of Bihar [1972] 3 SCR 639 : (1972) 1 SCC 748; Raghav Prapanna Tripathi v. State of U.P. [1963] SCR 239 : AIR 1963 SC 74 – referred to.
Modi’s Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology, 23rd Edition, Editors : K. Mathoharan and Amrit K Patnaik; Ken Kulig MD, in Critical Care Secrets (Fourth Edition) 2007 – referred to.
OTHER CASE DETAILS INCLUDING IMPUGNED
ORDER AND APPEARANCES
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India.
Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs),
CC BY 4.0.
