A Delhi court here has acquitted three persons in a dowry death case and said that “merely on the ground that a woman ended her life within seven years of marriage, it cannot be said that her suicide was a result of dowry death.”
According to the prosecution, the victim died by setting herself on fire in 2012.
Though the Sub-Divisional Magistrate recorded the dying declaration of the victim and the police recorded statements of her parents, yet the prosecution failed to prove the charges of dowry demand and cruelty meted out to her for not fulfilling it.
“There is nothing on record either by the victim in her dying declaration or by any of the witnesses that the victim ended her life due to cruelty or harassment caused by the accused persons. As such, the prosecution has failed to prove that the death of the victim was due to cruelty or harassment caused by the accused persons,” Additional Sessions Judge Lalit Kumar said in his judgment.
The Judge said that the mother of the victim did not disclose in her entire examination as to what type of demand was raised by the accused. She did not even mention the date, time or year of the incident. Also, the victim’s father had turned hostile during the trial.
Another key witness in the case, the victim’s relative, said in his cross-examination that the accused persons neither demanded dowry at the time of the marriage nor did the victim make any complaint regarding it or accused them of harassing or torturing her for dowry.
“From the testimony of victim’s relative, it is evident that the victim never levelled any allegations of demand of dowry, cruelty and harassment by the accused persons. Accordingly, the accused are hereby acquitted of the charges under Sections 498A/304B/34 IPC,” the Judge said.