New Delhi, May 4 A Delhi court has acquitted a man and his family members in a case of dowry death of his wife, saying that the prosecution failed to establish allegations of cruelty or dowry demand.
Additional Sessions Judge Shivani Chauhan passed the order during the hearing of the case against Tanuj Behuria, his brother Abhimanyu Behuria and sister-in-law Reena Behuria in connection with the death of Tanuj's wife in 2015, within a year of their marriage.
In the order dated April 29, the court said, "The shoddy investigation also did not help the case of the prosecution. Therefore, in the opinion of this court, there is no doubt that the prosecution has miserably failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt."
The prosecution had alleged that the woman died by suicide at her in-laws' home in Lodhi Colony after being subjected to harassment and cruelty over dowry demands. The three accused were booked under sections 304B (dowry death) and 498A (cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
However, during the trial, key prosecution witnesses, including the victim's father, brothers, and other close relatives, did not support the case and turned hostile. They told the court that there was no demand for dowry and that the deceased had never complained of harassment during her lifetime.
"The inherent infirmities and inconsistencies in the testimony of the prosecution witnesses strike at the very root of the prosecution story, rendering it improbable and unbelievable," the court said.
The father of the deceased stated that there was no matrimonial dispute to his knowledge and that the case was registered later at the instance of relatives. Similarly, the brothers of the deceased denied allegations that the accused had demanded money or subjected the woman to cruelty.
The court noted that these witnesses were the "most natural and material" witnesses, and their testimonies did not support the prosecution's version regarding dowry demand or harassment.
"There is no evidence of demand of dowry by any accused person at any point of time. Further, there is no evidence of any kind of torture by any accused person," the judge said.
While one relative spoke of "mental torture", the court found the testimony vague and lacking specific details linking it to dowry demands.
The court also took into account a suicide note attributed to the deceased, observing that there was no clear evidence to show that the accused had abetted the suicide or subjected her to cruelty over dowry.
It held that mere suspicion or general allegations were insufficient to invoke the presumption under dowry death provisions without credible evidence of cruelty or harassment proximate to the death.
Accordingly, giving the benefit of doubt, the court acquitted all the accused.
