A man and his mother have been convicted for abetting the suicide by his wife in Ashok Nagar in October 2014.

Additional sessions judge Satinder Kumar Gautam noted that the accused inflicted physical and mental cruelty on the woman, Neeraj, by demanding money and other articles from her. However, the court did not call it a case of dowry death “as the prosecution failed to prove that soon before the death any dowry demand was made”.

The accused, Deepak and his mother Rajenderi, were held guilty under section 498A (husband or his relative subjecting woman to cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) of the IPC.

On October 11, 2014, on the occasion of Karva Chauth, when Deepak was at a neighbour’s house, he was informed that Neeraj has hanged herself with her stole. Deepak rushed home, cut the stole and took Neeraj to hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead.

However, as per the prosecution, Deepak informed his father-in-law that Neeraj fell in the bathroom while bathing and she was critical in Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital. When Neeraj’s father, Hari Lal, reached hospital, he was told that she was brought dead.

He filed a complaint with the police, alleging that on demand by Neeraj’s in-laws he had paid ₹15,000 on the birth of his first grandson and ₹10,000 when his second grandson was born. He also told the police that on October 14, 2014, there was a quarrel between Neeraj and her sisters-in-law Jyoti and Priya.

Hari Lal also told the police that two-three days prior to the incident, Deepak had demanded a gold ring.

Neeraj’s mother, Kamlesh told the court that Neeraj’s mother-in-law had beaten her three-four days before she committed suicide. The accused, on the other hand, said that the relationship between the couple was cordial.

The court order did not mention the date of sentencing.

First Published: Apr 03, 2019 05:56 IST