# DR. SUNIL KUMAR SAMBHUDAYAL GUPTA AND ORS v. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

- **Citation:** [2010] 15 S.C.R. 452
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 2010-11-11
- **Case number:** Criminal Appeal No. 891 of 2004
- **Bench:** P. Sathasivam, Dr. B.S. Chauhan
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/dr-sunil-kumar-sambhudayal-gupta-and-ors-v-state-of-maharashtra-26745
- **Pages:** 39

## Headnote

Penal Code, 1860: ss. 306134 and 498A/34 - Conviction
under - Suicide by married woman 6 years after marriage -
c A/legation against husband and parents-in-law that they ill
treated the deceased and suspected that the deceased had
illicit relation with a family friend and that they demanded
dowry few days prior to her death and all that compelled the
deceased to commit suicide - Acquittal by trial court -
0
Conviction by High Court - Challenged - Held: Cumulative
effect of medical evidence given by three doctors led to the
inference that the deceased suffered from manic depression
and had mental/psychosis problem - The protests on part of
the accused even on a mere suspicion, and asking the
E deceased to keep distance from the family friend, with whom
they suspected she was illicitly involved cannot be termed as
unwarranted - Depositions of father, brother and aunt of
deceased were full of contradictions and exaggerations -
Allegation of demand of gold ornaments by mother-in-law not
F found plausible - Certain vital facts stated for the first time in
court which were neither mentioned in statements made u/
s.161 Cr.P.C. nor in FIR - It was a case of gross abuse of
dowry laws - High Court dealt with the case very casually,
adopting a very superficial approach to the whole matter and
brushed aside the a/legation of illicit relationship, for which
G there had been documentary evidence, without recording any
cogent reasons for the same -
High Court did not make any
attempt to appreciate the evidence with accuracy and
reversed the findings of the trial court which were based on
H
452
OR. S~
KUMAR SAMBHUDAYAt: GUPTA v.
453
. -STATE OF MAHARASHTRA
evidence and detailed reasons - Code of Criminal Procedure,
A
1973 - s.161.
Evidence:
Contradictions/Omissions/Discrepancy/Improvement in
evidence - Reliability of such evidence - Discussed.
Statement made in FIR or u/s.161 Cr.P.C. not disclosing
certain facts - Disclosing those facts for the first time in court
-
Reliability of such evidence -
Discussed -
Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973 - s.161.
Discrepancy in evidence -
Normal and material ·
discrepancy - Distinction between, and their respective effect
on the credibility of a party's case.
B
c
Presumption of service ...,.. Registered letter - Held: There
D
is a presumption of service of a letter sent under registered
cover- No doubt, the presumption is rebuttable and it is open
to the party concerned to place evidence before the court to
rebut the presumption by showing that the address mentioned
on the cover was incorrect or that the postal authorities never
E
' tendered the registered letter to him - The burden to rebut
the presumption lies on the party challenging the factum of
service.
Appeal against acquittal: Interference by appellate court,
with the order of acquittal passed by the trial court - Scope
of.
The prosecution case was that the victim-deceased
F
got married to appellant no.1on1.12.1978. A female child ·
was born out of the wedlock in the year 1981. The victim
G
committed suicide on 28.9.1985. PW-2, the brother of the
deceased filed a complaint against the appellants who
were the husband and the parents-in-law of the deceased
alleging that they had been demanding gold ornaments
H
454
SUPREME C0URT RfPURf0, ! J10] 1c:; (AODL) SC R
A and ill-treating the deceased, which drove the deceased
to commit suicide.
The trial court acquitted all the accused on the
ground that the alleged demand of gold ornaments or ills treatment of the deceased could not be established and
the letters produced by the prosecution were neither
suggestive of ill-treatment nor of demand of dowry; that
no such allegations were made either while lodging the
FIR or in the statements recorded under Section 161,
C Cr.P.C. and such allegations were made for the first time
only while making statements before the court during
trial; and there were material contradictions and
improvements in the testimonies of witnesses which
made them unreliable.
D
The High

## Text

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[2010] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R. 452
A
DR. SUNIL KUMAR SAMBHUDAYAL GUPTA AND ORS.
B
v.
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA
(Criminal Appeal No. 891 of 2004)
NOVEMBER 11, 2010
[P. SATHASIVAM AND DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, JJ.]
Penal Code, 1860: ss. 306134 and 498A/34 - Conviction
under - Suicide by married woman 6 years after marriage -
c A/legation against husband and parents-in-law that they ill
treated the deceased and suspected that the deceased had
illicit relation with a family friend and that they demanded
dowry few days prior to her death and all that compelled the
deceased to commit suicide - Acquittal by trial court -
0
Conviction by High Court - Challenged - Held: Cumulative
effect of medical evidence given by three doctors led to the
inference that the deceased suffered from manic depression
and had mental/psychosis problem - The protests on part of
the accused even on a mere suspicion, and asking the
E deceased to keep distance from the family friend, with whom
they suspected she was illicitly involved cannot be termed as
unwarranted - Depositions of father, brother and aunt of
deceased were full of contradictions and exaggerations -
Allegation of demand of gold ornaments by mother-in-law not
F found plausible - Certain vital facts stated for the first time in
court which were neither mentioned in statements made u/
s.161 Cr.P.C. nor in FIR - It was a case of gross abuse of
dowry laws - High Court dealt with the case very casually,
adopting a very superficial approach to the whole matter and
brushed aside the a/legation of illicit relationship, for which
G there had been documentary evidence, without recording any
cogent reasons for the same -
High Court did not make any
attempt to appreciate the evidence with accuracy and
reversed the findings of the trial court which were based on
H
452
OR. S~
KUMAR SAMBHUDAYAt: GUPTA v.
453
. -STATE OF MAHARASHTRA
evidence and detailed reasons - Code of Criminal Procedure,
A
1973 - s.161.
Evidence:
Contradictions/Omissions/Discrepancy/Improvement in
evidence - Reliability of such evidence - Discussed.
Statement made in FIR or u/s.161 Cr.P.C. not disclosing
certain facts - Disclosing those facts for the first time in court
-
Reliability of such evidence -
Discussed -
Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973 - s.161.
Discrepancy in evidence -
Normal and material ·
discrepancy - Distinction between, and their respective effect
on the credibility of a party's case.
B
c
Presumption of service ...,.. Registered letter - Held: There
D
is a presumption of service of a letter sent under registered
cover- No doubt, the presumption is rebuttable and it is open
to the party concerned to place evidence before the court to
rebut the presumption by showing that the address mentioned
on the cover was incorrect or that the postal authorities never
E
' tendered the registered letter to him - The burden to rebut
the presumption lies on the party challenging the factum of
service.
Appeal against acquittal: Interference by appellate court,
with the order of acquittal passed by the trial court - Scope
of.
The prosecution case was that the victim-deceased
F
got married to appellant no.1on1.12.1978. A female child ·
was born out of the wedlock in the year 1981. The victim
G
committed suicide on 28.9.1985. PW-2, the brother of the
deceased filed a complaint against the appellants who
were the husband and the parents-in-law of the deceased
alleging that they had been demanding gold ornaments
H
454
SUPREME C0URT RfPURf0, ! J10] 1c:; (AODL) SC R
A and ill-treating the deceased, which drove the deceased
to commit suicide.
The trial court acquitted all the accused on the
ground that the alleged demand of gold ornaments or ills treatment of the deceased could not be established and
the letters produced by the prosecution were neither
suggestive of ill-treatment nor of demand of dowry; that
no such allegations were made either while lodging the
FIR or in the statements recorded under Section 161,
C Cr.P.C. and such allegations were made for the first time
only while making statements before the court during
trial; and there were material contradictions and
improvements in the testimonies of witnesses which
made them unreliable.
D
The High Court relied upon the deposition of the
doctor (PW.10) that the deceased had told him that she
was deprived of love and affection by her family members
and had no faith any of them. The High Court held thdt
the defence failed to establish that the deceased was
E suffering from epilepsy before her marriage and that there
was existence of any illicit relationship between the
deceased and a family friend 'Kake'. It further held that
there had been a demand of a gold chain by appellant
No.3, the mother-in-law of the deceased. Accordingly, the
F High Court convicted the appellants under Sections 306/
34 and 498A/34 IPC. The instant appeal was filed
challenging the order of conviction. During pendency of
appeal, appellant no.3 died and her appeal stood abated.
G
Allowing the appeal, the Court
HELD: 1.1. Material Contradictions:
While
appreciating the evidence, the court has to take into
consideration whether the contradictions/omissions had
been of such magnitude that they may materially affect
H the trial.
Minor contradictions, inconsistencies,
DR SUNiL KUMAR SAMBHUDAY:\L GUPT.A. v.
455
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA
embellishments or improvements on trivial matters
A
without effecting the core of the prosecution case should
not be made a ground to reject the evidence in its entirety.
The trial court, after going through the entire evidence.
must form an opinion about the credibility of the
witnesses and the appellate court in normal course would
B
not be justified in reviewing the same again without
justifiable reasons. Where the omission amount to a
contradiction, creating a serious doubt about the
truthfulness of a witness and other witness also make
material improvements before the court in order to make c
the evidence acceptable, it cannot be safe to rely upon
such evidence. The discrepancies in the evidence of eyewitnesses, if found to be not minor in nature, may be a
ground for disbelieving and discrediting their evidence.
!n such circumstances, witnesses may not inspire 0
confidence and if their evidence is found to be in conflict
and contradiction with other evidence or with the
statement already recorded, in such a case it cannot be
held that prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable
doubt. In case, the complainant in the FIR or the witness
E
in his statement under section 161 Cr.P.C., has not
disclosed certain facts but meets the prosecution case
first time before the court, such version lacks credence
and is liable to be discarded. [Paras 14, 15, 16, 17) [480C-H; 481-A-B]
State Represented by Inspector of Police v. Saravanan
& .Anr. AIR 2009 SC 152; State of Rajasthan v. Rajendra
Singh (2009) 11 SCC 106; Mahendra Pratap Singh v. State
F
of Uttar Pradesh (2009) 11 SCC 334; State Represented by
Inspector of Police, Tamil Nadu v. Sait @ Krishnakumar G
(2008) 15 SCC 440; State of Rajasthan v. Smt. Ka!ki & Anr.
AIR 1981 SC 1390 - relied on.
1.2. The courts have to lc:iJel the category to which a
discrepancy belongs.
While normal discrepancies do
H
456 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2010] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R.
A not corrode the credibility of a party's case, material
discrepancies do so.
Mere marginal variations in the
statements cannot be dubbed as improvements as the
same may be elaborations of the statement made by the
witness earlier. The omissions which amount to
B contradictions in material particulars i.e. go to the root of
the case/materially affect the trial or core of the
prosecution's case, render the testimony of the witness
liable to be discredited. [Paras 19, 21] [481-E-F; 482-AB]
c
Syed Ibrahim v. State of A.P. AIR 2006 SC 2908;
Arumugam v. State AIR 2009 SC 331; Bihari Nath Goswami
v. Shiv Kumar Singh & Ors. (2004) 9 SCC 186 - relied on.
2.1. Appeal against Acquittal: While dealing with a
D judgment of acquittal, an appellate court must consider
the entire evidence on record, so as to arrive at a finding
as to whether the views of the trial court were perverse
or otherwise unsustainable. Even though the appellate
court is entitled to consider, whether in arriving at a
E finding of fact, the trial court had placed the burden of
proof incorrectly or failed to take into consideration any
admissible evidence and/or had taken into consideration
evidence brought on record contrary to law; the appellate
court should not ordinarily set aside a judgment of
F acquittal in a case where two views are possible, though
the view of the appellate court may be the more probable
one. The trial court which has the benefit of watching the
demeanor of the witnesses is the best judge of the
credibility of the witnesses. [Para 22] [482-C-E]
G
2.2. Every accused is presumed to be innocent
unless his guilt is proved. The presumption of innocence
is a human right. Subject to the statutory exceptions, the
said principle forms the basis of criminal jurisprudence
in India. The nature of the offence, its seriousness and
H gravity has to be taken into consideration. The appellate
DR. SUNIL KUMAR SAMBHUDAYAL GUPTA v.
457
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA
court should bear in mind the presumption of innocence
A
of the accused, and further, that the trial court's acquittal
bolsters the presumption of his innocence. Interference
with the decision of the trial court in a casual or cavalier
manner where the other view is possible should be
avoided, unless there are good reasons for such
B
interference. In exceptional cases where there are
compelling circumstances, and the judgment under
appeal is found to be perverse, the appellate court can
interfere with the order of acquittal. The findings of fact
recorded by a court can be held to be perverse if the c
findings have been arrived at by ignoring or excluding
relevant material or by taking into consideration
irrelevant/inadmissible material. A finding may also be
. said to be perverse if it is 'against the weight of evidence',
or if the finding so outrageously defies logic as to suffer
0
from the vice of irrationality. [Paras 23, 24] (482-F-H; 483A-C]
.
.
Balak Ram & Anr. v. State of UP. AIR 1974 SC 2165;
Shai/endra Pratap & Anr. v. State of UP. AIR 2003 SC 1104;
Budh Singh & Ors. v. State of UP. AIR 2006 SC 2500; S.
E
Rama Krishna v. S. Rami Reddy (D) by his LRs. & Ors. AIR
2008 SC 2066; Aru/velu & Anr. v. State (2009) 10 SCC 206;
Ram Singh alias Chhaju v. State of Himacha/ Pradesh (2010)
2 SCC 445; Babu v. State of Kera/a (2010) 9 SCC 189 -
relied on.
F
3.1. The record revealed that at an initial stage the
relationship between husband and wife had been very
cordial and they had love and affection for each other. It
was only at a later stage when the family suspected an
G
illicit relationship between the deceased and 'Kake' that
the appellants were very much disturbed. Both the
families made serious attempts to re-concile and patch.
up the matter and the appellants had agreed that the
: deceased may be given an opportunity to improve her
H
458
SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2010] 15 (ADDL.) S.C R
A behaviour. Thus, admittedly there was a doubt that the
deceased had developed serious intimacy with 'Kake',
which was much more than what happens in normal
course with a family friend. Therefore, the finding
recorded by the High Court that the intimacy between
B them to the extent of having an illicit relationship was not
there, loses its significance, for the reason that even the
suspicion of such a matter becomes the talk of the town
and the reputation of the family remains at stake. The
protests on the part of the appellants even on a mere
c suspicion and asking the deceased to keep distance from
'Kake' or improve her behaviour was not something
which can be termed to be unwarranted or uncalled for.
[Para 25] (483-E-H; 484-A-B]
3.2. There had been a lot of improvements and
D contradictions in statements of the doctor (PW-10). He
deposed for the first time in the court during the trial, that
when he went to examine the deceased, she was found
in an unkept room/store room and that he was
introduced to the deceased as a Psychiatrist and that the
E deceased had asked him whether he treated his wife in
the same way as she had been treated by her husband.
None of this was mentioned in his statement recorded by
the police. Nor it had been recorded therein that the
deceased had told him that she was harassed by the
F appellants and her ornaments were taken away/worn by
her mother-in-law (A.3). More so, he had not stated in his
police statement that the deceased was merely mentally
disturbed and not suffering from a gross psychological
problem. Nor had he stated therein that the deceased had
G told him that she was not having any faith in any of her
family members and she was deprived of their love,
affection and sympathy. Such contradictions in his
statements cannot be held to be mere explanations or
elaborations of his version, but tantamount to material
H contradictions or vital omissions. The rules of
DR. SUNIL KUMAR SAMBHUDAYAL GUPTA v.
459
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA
appreciation of evidence requires that court should not A
draw conclusions by picking up an isolated sentence of
a witness without adverting to the statement as a whole.
In such a fact-situation, it is not safe to rely on his
testimony for the simple reason that he had made a lot
of improvements/embellishments while deposing in court B
and vital .contradictions existed with his earlier recorded
statement. Thus, no reliance could be placed on his
depositions to hold that appellants had ill-treated the
deceased or that appellant no.3 had taken away/worn her
ornaments or that she had been deprived of their love c
and affection or that she was not suffering from epilepsy
etc.
The deposition of the doctor (PW.1) revealed that
E.C.T. treatment is given only to mental patients, who
have mental depression and tend to commit suicide; the
ailment of epileptic fits is a neurological problem. This
0
view stood fully corroborated by the deposition of the
doctor (PW.12), Reader in Psychiatric Medicine, Mental
Hospital, Kanpur. He had examined the deceased and
prescribed medicines for manic depressive Psychosis.
The prescription of this witness substantially remained
E
the same as of PW.10.
The cumulative effect of the
medical evidence given by three doctors would lead to
the conclusion that deceased had been suffering from
manic depression and certainly had some mental/
epileptic/ psychosis problem. [Paras 28, 29] [485-E-H;
486-A]
3.3. The other witnesses were the father, brother and
F
the aunt of the deceased. Being close relatives, in such
facts and circumstances, they might have developed
inimical feelings towards the appellants, since they came
G
to the conclusion that the appellants were responsible
for the death of the deceased. However, their depositions ·
were full of contradictions and have marked
improvements from their statements recorded earlier. The
exaggerations and improvements are of such a nature
H
460 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2010] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R
A that they made their whole statements in respect of the
demand for gold ornaments and/or the ill-treatment of the
deceased liable to total disregard on these counts. Gold
ornaments had been given by the complainants to the
deceased out of love and free will at the time of the
B marriage of PW.2 and at the time of birth of daughter of
the deceased. Undoubtedly, PW.2 had alleged in the FIR
that there had been demand of gold ornaments by the
appellants but without any details of the same. He could
not furnish any explanation as why this fact was not
c disclosed to the police when his statement and
supplementary statement was recorded. Also no such
inference could be drawn from any of the letters on
record. Only one un-dated letter (Ext.P-21) written by the
deceased to her father suggested that her mother in-law
0 had been asking for a gold chain. More so, as the chain
had been given by the complainants to the deceased just
2/3 months before her death, and there was no evidence
that any further demand had been there, the issue
became totally irrelevant in terms of proving the motive,
and it cannot be presumed that any demand was made.
E More so, even if it is presumed that there was some
demand by appellant No.3, as she is no more, and her
appeal stood abated, this issue has become totally
irrelevant for the reason that no such allegation had ever
been made against the remaining two appellants. [Para
F 29) [486-B-G]
3.4. The relations between the parties became
strained because of the suspicion that the deceased was
having an illicit relationship with 'Kake'. However, it was
G admitted by PW.8, father of the deceased, that
subsequently the relations became normal and they were
invited at the house of the appellants after the deceased
tendered an apology to her mother-in- law. The said
witness did not state in his statement before the police
H that when he went to see the appellants, they had asked
DR. SUNIL KUMAR SAMBHUDAYAL GUPTA v.
461
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA
him whether he had brought gold ornaments or that he
A
was told that the deceased would not be allowed to live
there and they would make her condition even more
·miserable. Such an improvement was made while
deposing in court and no explanation could be furnished
by him. as to why such vital facts were not stated by him
at the time of recording his statement under Section 161
Cr.P.C. This statement is to be discarded as it is not safe
B
to hold the appellants guilty of the offences alleged
against them on such an improved version.
The
deposition of PW.7, aunt of the deceased is by no means c
different, as she had also made major contradictions and
· improvements in her statement made in court. She had
not stated in her police statement that the appellants were
demanding gold ornaments from the deceased and her
family or that the appellants· were keeping the deceased
starving and were not allowing her to meet her daughter.
The explanation furnished by her that she had not been
feeling well and had forgotten to narrate such material
facts, cannot be believed. The statement of PW.2, the
brother of the deceased was also full of contradictions
and
suffered
from
major improvements.
The
contradictions were of such a nature that they impaired
the whole of his evidence. The same cannot be held to
be clarificatory. He was not in a position to state what
ornaments his family had presented to the deceased on
different occasions. He could not even furnish an
explanation as to why the demand of a gold chain was
D
E
F
not evident from any of the letters between the parties,
except in the letter (Ext. P-21 ). The complainants have
denied the receipt of letter written by appellant no.2 to the
father of the deceased. However, the appellants have
G
produced the correspondence with the post office and
proved the postal stamp to show that the said letter was
sent by registered A.D. to PW.8. The law in this regard is
well settled. There is a presumption of service of a letter
H
462
SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2010] 15 (ADDL J S C H
A sent under registered cover. No doubt, the presumption
is rebuttable and it is open to the party concerned to
place dvidence before the court to rebut the presumption
by showing that the address mentioned on the cover
was incorrect or that the postal authorities never tenderer!
B the registered letter to him. The burden to rebut the
presumption lies on the party challenging the factum of
service. It was the responsibility of the complainants to
prove by adducing evidence of the official of the Post
Office, that the said letter had not been delivered to them.
c However, for the reasons best known to the prosecution
such an exercise was not undertaken. [Paras 30-33] [487A-H; 488-A-C-E-F; 489-8]
Gujarat Electricity Board & Anr. v. Atmaram Sungomal
Poshani AIR 1989 SC 1433; Cfuef Commissioner of /ncom'J
D Tax (Administration), Bangalore v. V.K Gururaj and Ors
(1996) 7 SCC 275; Shim/a Development Authority and Ors.
v. Santosh Sharma (smt.) and Anr. (1997) 2 SCC 637;
Harihar Banerji v. Ramshashi Roy AIR (1918) PC 102 - relied
on.
E
4.1. The instant case is required to be examined from
another angle also. The marriage took place on 1st
December, 1978. The complainant party could not place
any correspondence on record prior to February 1985
F except letter dated 24th February, 1979 written by the
deceased herself to her husband. However, it also goes
in favour of the appellants. The controversy arose only
after the expiry of the period of more than 6 years fro111
the date of marriage. It is quite possible that the dispute
arose between the parties only because of the suspicion
G that the deceased had developed an illicit relationship
with 'Kake'. Had there been a demand of dowry or illtreatment to her on any other ground by the appellants.
there could have been some correspondence between
the parties during the said long period of more than 6
H
DR. SUNIL KUMAR SAMBHUDAYAL GUPTA v.
463
STATE. OF MAHARASHTRA
years. None of the prosecution witnesses had made any
A
allegation of any demand of dowry or ill treatment during
the said earlier period. It is unnatural that after expiry of
such a long period, the appellants suddenly became
greedy and started demanding ornaments and for not
meeting their demand, started ill treating the deceased to
B
the extent that she had to commit suicide. Thus, the
allegations made by the complainant party remained
unnatural and improbable. More so, the demand had
been only of a thin gold chain which could not be very
expensive in those days, especially Considering the c
socio-economic status of all the parties. For the gold
ornament worth such a petty amount after the expiry of
a long period of about 6 % years. from the date of
marriage, it is not natural that the appellants could treat
the deceased with such cruelty that she was drawn to
commit suicide. [Para 34] [489-C-H; 490-A]
D
4.2. It is a c.lear cut case of gross abuse of the dowry
laws. It is difficult to sustain the conviction of the
appellants on the said counts based upon the
inconsistent, embellished and improved statements of the
E
witnesses, which materially contradict their respective
statements recorded earlier. The High Court did not
dislodge the reasons given by the trial court for acquittal.
The High Court did not make any reference to the
deposition of PW.10 in the cross-examination and dealt
F
with the case very casually, adopting a very superficial
approach to the whole matter and brushed aside the
allegation of an illicit relationship for which there had
been documentary evidence on record without recording
any cogent reasons for the same. The High Court did not G
make any attempt to appreciate the evidence with
accuracy and reversed the findings of the trial court
which were based on the evidence on record and for
which detailed reasons had been assigned. [Para 35]
[490-B-E]
H
464 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2010] 1 15 (AOOL.) S.C.R.
A
Case Law Reference:
AIR 2009 SC 152
relied on
Para 14
(2009) 11 sec 106
relied on
Para 15
B
(2009) 11 sec 334
relied on
Para 16
(2008) 15 sec 440
relied on
Para 17
AIR 1981 SC 1390
relied on
Para 18
AIR 2006 SC 2908
relied on
Para 19
c
AIR 2009 SC 331
relied on
Para 19
(2004) 9 sec 186
relied on
Para 20
AIR 1974 SC 2165
relied on
Para 24
D
AIR 2003 SC 1104
relied on
Para 24
AIR 2006 SC 2500
relied on
Para 24
AIR 2008 SC 2066
relied on
Para 24
E
(2009) 1 o sec 206
relied on
Para 24
(201 o) 2 sec 445
relied on
Para 24
(2010) 9 sec 189
relied on
Para 24
AIR 1989 SC 1433
relied on
Para 33
F
(1996) 1 sec 215
relied on
Para 33
(1997) 2 sec 637
relied on
Para 33
AIR (1918) PC 102
relied on
Para 33
G
CRIMINAL APP ELLA TE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal
No. 891 of 2004.
From the Judgment & Order dated 29.4.2004 of the High
Court of Judicature at Bombay in Criminal Appeal No. 865 of
H 1987.
DR. SUNIL KUMAR SAMBHUOAYAL GUPTA v.
465
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA
K.T,S. Tulsi, Niraj Gupta, Raj Kamal, Arputham, Aruna &
A
Co., for the Appellants.
Sushil Karanikar, Sanjay V. Kharde, Asha Gopalan Nair
for the Respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J. 1. This appeal has been preferred
against the judgment and order of the High Court of Bombay,
dated 29.4.2004, passed in Criminal Appeal No. 865 of 1987,
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by which the High Court has reversed the judgment and order
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of the Trial Court acquitting the appellants of the charges under
Sections 306/34 and 498A/34 of the Indian Penal. Code, 1860
(hereinafter called as 'IPC').
2. Facts and circumstances giving rise to this case are that
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appellant No.1 got married to one Neeru Gupta (hereinafter
called as 'the deceased') on 1.12.1978 by way .of an arranged
m,arriage. Out of the said wedlock, a female child named Mili
was born in 1981. There had been some disputes between
the husband and wife on petty matters. Neeru committed suicide
on 28.9.1985 by hanging herself in the bathroom when all the. E
other family members had gone outside. Rajesh (PW.2),
brother of the deceased, filed a complaint dated 30.9.1985,
against the appellants i.e. the husband and parents in law of
the deceased, alleging that they had been demanding dowry
and had given ill treatment to the deceased, and that is why
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Neeru committed suicide. The police investigated the matter
and filed the charge sheet against all the three appellants on
9.1.1986 under Section 306 read with Section 34 IPC and
Section 498A read with Section 34 IPC. The prosecution
examined a large number of witnesses to substantiate its case.
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After the conclusion of the trial, the Sessions Court vide its
judgment and order dated 21.5.1987, held that the deceased
had committed suicide. However, no role could be attributed
to any of the appellants for the same, and the prosecution failed
to prove any of the charges beyond reasonable doubt against
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2010) 15 (ADDL) S.C.R
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the appellants. The witnesses examined by the prosecution
improved their version with regard to claims of the alleged
demands, particularly in respect of the gold ornaments and ill
treatment of the deceased. The Trial Court came to the
conclusion that the deceased was suffering from epilepsy,
B psychosis and depression and had been getting regular
treatment for the same. Therefore, it was not a case of dowry
demand or treating her with cruelty.
3. Being aggrieved, the State of Maharashtra preferred
Criminal Appeal No.865 of 1987 before the High Court of
C Bombay and the High Court reversed the order of acquittal,
convicted the appellants vide its judgment and order dated
29.4.2004 and imposed the punishment of 3 years RI on the
husband, appellant No.1, and 2 years on the other appellants
i.e. the in-laws of the deceased. Hence, this appeal.
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4. Shri K.T.S Tulsi, learned senior counsel appearing for
the appellants, has submitted that the High Court failed to
appreciate the medical evidence and depositions of the
prosecution witnesses in the right perspective, as the same
E could not establish conclusively that the suicide by the
deceased could be attributed to the appellants to any extent. It
was a clear cut case of suicide because of depression, as the
deceased had been suffering from epilepsy and other mental
disorders. The deceased had developed an illicit relationship
F with a family friend, Kake, and a letter written by the said Kake
had been in the possession of the other family members and,
therefore, they had informed her parents and brother about the
said illicit relationship. The medical evidence, particularly, the
deposition of Dr. Daulatram Nekumal Gurbani (PW.10) made
G it clear that the deceased had been suffering from serious
depression and such a patient often develops suicidal
tendencies. The deceased had also made an attempt earlier
to commit suicide in 1985 and she had been taken to the local
hospital. Subsequently, she had also been treated at Kanpur.
The findings of fact recorded by the Trial Court that there was
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DR. SUNIL KUMAR SAMBHUDAYAL GUPTA v.
467
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA [DR. S.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
neither any demand of gold ornaments or any kind of dowry,
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nor had the deceased been subjected to cruelty, could not be
held to be perverse by the High Court to bring home the
charges against the appellants under Sections 306 or 498A
IPC. The parents-in-law of the deceased were not living at
Kalyan, as the appellant No.2 had been transferred to
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' Kurudwadi in 1983 and the deceased was living with her
husb,and i.e. appellant No.1, at Kalyan. The High Court
committed an error in shifting the burden of proof to the defence
as the court observed that the defence failed to prove its
versiqn. In fact the prosecution has to prove its case beyond c
reasonable doubt and the failure of the defence to prove the
def~rice version cannot be a ground for conviction. More so,
as_ there has been no abetment to suicide, the provisions of
Section 306 IPC could not be attracted. Thus, in view of above,
the appeal deserves to be allowed.
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5. On the contrary, Shri Sushil Karanjakar, learned counsel
appearing for the State has vehemently opposed the appeal
contending that the High Court's judgment is based on cogent
reasons and on a proper appreciation of the evidence on
record. The High Court has correctly reached the conclusion
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that the findings of fact recorded by the Trial Court were
perverse. The High Court is the final court of facts, its findings
do not deserve to be disturbed by this Court in a routine
' manner. There is sufficient evidence on record to prove the
demand of dowry and abetment to suicide. Therefore, no
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interference is required by this Court with the findings of fact
recorded by the High Court. The appeal lacks merit and, thus,
is liable to be dismissed.
6. We have considered the rival submissions made; by
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learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.
7. Before proceeding further, it may be pertinent to
mention here that Shri K.T.S Tulsi, learned senior counsel
appearing for the appellants, has informed us that appellant
No.3, Sou. Pushamalati Sambhudayal Gupta died in the month
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468 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2010] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R.
A of February, 2010. In view thereof, the appeal by appellant No.3
stands abated and we only have to consider the case of ·
appellant Nos. 1 and 2, i.e., the husband and the father-in-law
of the deceased.
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8. The Trial Court after appreciating the depositions of the
witnesses and examining the documentary evidence on record
came to the conclusion that the alleged demand of gold
ornaments or ill-treatment of the deceased could not be
established and none of the letters produced by the prosecution
C has been suggestive of either of ill-treatment or demand of
dowry. None of the prosecution witnesses, i.e. the family
members of the deceased, made such allegations either while
lodging the FIR or in their statements recorded under Section
161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter called
'Cr.P.C.'). Such allegations had been made for the first time
D while making statements before the court during trial. There
were material contradictions and improvements, which were not
mere elaborations of their statements already made. Thus,
their statements in regard to those allegations were liable to
be discarded.
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9. The High Court reversed the findings of fact recorded
by the Trial Court, mainly relying upon the evidence of Dr.
Daulatram Nekumal Gurubani (PW.10), as he had deposed that
when he had examined the deceased, she told him that she
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had been deprived of love and affection by her family members.
She had no faith in any member of her family. He had also
opined that it was not a case of psychosis, but the deceased
had been suffering from a mental disorder. The High Court also
reached the conclusion that the defence failed to establish that
G the deceased was suffering from epilepsy before her marriage.
The stay of the deceased along with her parents in a Guest
House for two-three days after going from Kanpur to Kalyan has
also been taken by the High Court as a circumstance adverse
to the appellants. The High Court also came to the conclusions
H that the intimacy between the deceased and Kake did not
DR. SUNIL KUMAR SAMBHUDAYAL GUPTA v.
469
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
mean that she had illicit relationship with Kake; and there had
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been a demand of a gold chain by appellant No.3.
10. As the High Court has reversed the order of acquittal
and taken a view contrary to the view taken by the Trial Court,
we have taken upon ourselves the task of appreciation of 8
evidence and considered the legal and factual issues involved
in the case.
11. Letters written by the parties to each other:
(A) A large number of letters had been placed on record c
before the Trial Court by both the parties. Letter dated
24:2.1979 (Ext.P-26), written by the deceased to her
husband, about 3 months after the marriage reveals that
there was no problem in the relationship between the
husband and wife. In fact, it suggests that they had deep
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love and affection for each other.
(B) Letter dated 3.4.1985, written by appellant no. 2 to the
father of the deceased, makes it evident that something
had gone wrong and the behaviour of the deceased had
been totally unwarranted, as it revealed that she had gone
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out of the house i.e. on the main road, half-naked and she
had brought disrepute to the family of her in-laws. However,
they had been tolerating such behaviour. She had lowered
their prestige so much that they had not been able to show
their faces to anyone. It suggested an illicit relationship
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between the deceased and one family friend, Kake. It also
?uggested that the deceased wanted to live with the said
·Kake, as she had developed love for him and she was
willing to elope with him. It also suggested that it was .
wrong on the part of Smt. Shanti (mother of the deceased)
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to have been giving wrong advice to the deceased and
making false allegations that her in-laws were not treating
her properly. According to this letter, the deceased had
declared that she was no longer interested in Sunil, her
husband, as she did not like him any more and in the end
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2010] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R.
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appellant No.2 had expressed great concern about his
grand daughter Mili and stated that he was willing to keep
her in a hostel so that she could be spared humiliation
because of the illicit relationship between the deceased
and Kake. The author of the letter suggested to the father
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of the deceased that he should call the deceased to
Kanpur as there could be some untoward/disastrous
incident in future.
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(C) The undated letter (Ext. P-2) purported to have been
written by Kake to the deceased, gives an impression that
the deceased had not only deep intimacy, but something
more with Kake. Kake was also in possession of some
of her photographs which he claimed to be his fortune and
said that the same would not be returned to her as she had
requested and would be burnt only with the end of his life.
This letter also suggested that he had the opportunity to
have a physical relationship with her.
(D) There are several other letters on record showing that
after the development of the intimacy between Kake and
the deceased, both families were disturbed and attempts
had been made from both the sides to patch up the matter.
However, none of the letters suggests any demand of
dowry or ill treatment to the deceased amounting to cruelty
by the appellants.
(E) The letter dated 7.7.1985 written by the complainant,
Rajesh, brother of the deceased to appellant No.1, is
suggestive in nature. It suggests that appellant no. 1 should
try to save the prestige of the family at any cost and forget
all that had happened in the past, as the deceased was
willing to improve herself and accept any advice given by
her husband. Another letter dated 9.7.1985, written by the
informant, Rajesh, brother of the deceased to the appellant
No.2 revealed that the entire family of the deceased had
been making serious attempts at re-conciliation. Even in
DR. SUNIL KUMAR SAMBHUDAYAL GUPTA v.
471
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
this letter there was not even a whisper/mention of any
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demand of dowry or of ill treatment.
(F) The letter dated 18. 7.1985 written by the father of the
deceased to his son Rajesh (PW.2) from Kalyan made it
clear that the author along with the deceased had gone to
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Kalyan to meet the family of the appellants, and they were
not welcomed by the mother-in-law of the deceased at the
initial stage. They had been staying in Modern Guest
House in the same colony. Appellant No.1, the husband
of the deceased suggested that the deceased should meet
her mother-in-law and apologies, which was accepted by
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the deceased. The deceased met her mother-in-law and
apologized. After some time, the mother-in-law became
quiet and calm and started behaving properly and all the
appellants treated them well.
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(G) The un-dated letter (Ex.P-21) wri~ten by the deceased
to her father revealed that her mother~in-law wanted her to
separate herself from the other mem~ers of the family and
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her parents. It also gave the impress~on that her motherin-law was asking for a gold chain ("z~nzir ke /iye keh rahi
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thi') and created problems for her in n1eeting her husband
and daughter. After the arrival of h~r brother-in-law to
Kalyan, the behaviour of her mother-in-law had improved
a lot, but her husband being busy in h s practice and did
not have sufficient time to be with her.
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(H) From the original record, a letter d~ted 1.4.1985 (E.xt.
•
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16), by the mother-in-law to the fathet of the deceased
seems to have been written after losing hope completely
and concluding that the deceased had become incorrigible.
The said letter suggests that the relation~hip between the
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deceased and her husband had come to an end. The
deceased had become a woman of bad character. They
had tolerated her to a great extent. The deceased had
been tutored by her mother; she had been misbehaving
with them and it had become difficult for them to tolerate
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472 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2010] 15 (ADDL.) S.C.R.
her any more. The deceased had been using abusive
language to all the family members. She had lowered their
reputation and they had been very unlucky to have such a
daughter-in-law. As she wanted to live with Kake and not
with her husband, they did not want to have any relationship
with her. [Appellant No. 3 had denied writing the said
letter].
(I) Another letter dated 22.5.1985, is on record written by
Jai Narain Gupta from Sandila, U.P. (who seems to be
relative of the deceased) wherein a suggestion had been
made to patch up the matter. The author has drawn the
inference that the problems were being created for the
deceased, and she has been treated with cruelty as her
in-laws did not receive dowry according to their
expectations, though, there is no allegation that there has
been any demand of dowry and for not giving the same.
(J) The undated letter written by the deceased to her aunt
Manorma Gupta at Barabanki does not suggest anything
against the accused, as the deceased had written that
everything was fine and that she would discuss things when
they met. The undated letter written by her aunt in reply,
suggests that there was something amiss. She had
mentioned that the whole family was very disturbed, but
they were not able to suggest any solution. There was
nothing to worry or fear as all of them were with the
deceased and she also told the deceased to face things
with courage, as she had equal rights to stay in the house
and to fight for justice.
12. pepositions of Prosecution witnesses (Relevant
G parts):
(I)
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Dr. Mohan Kulkarni, a practicing doctor residing in
the same building (PW.1 )-
"I know both accused Nos. 2 and 3 used to
DR. SUNIL KUMAR SAMBHUDAYAL GUPTA v.
473
STATE OF MAHARASHTRA [DR. B.S.