HC sends parents, brother-in-law to jail in dowry death case

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Overturning the acquittal of three persons including an advocate, the High Court of Karnataka sentenced them to two years in imprisonment for subjecting a woman to cruelty which ultimately led her to commit suicide.

The husband of the woman is already serving a sentence of seven years. Refusing to grant them probation, the HC said, “In the present case, accused Nos.2 to 4 are found to be guilty for the offence under Section 498A of Indian Penal Code. Looking at the facts and circumstances of the case, coupled with the allegations against accused Nos.2 to 4 in subjecting deceased Lakshmi to cruelty, we believe that accused Nos. 2 to 4 are not entitled to the benefit of the Probation of Offenders Act.”

Lakshmi was married to Venkatesha Reddy from Srinivasapura taluk in 2007. Her parents had allegedly paid a dowry of Rs.1.5 lakh, 120 grams of gold and a motorbike during the wedding.

Venkatesha, his parents Bhyrareddy and Lakshmidevamma and brother Erappa Reddy allegedly subjected Lakshmi to cruelty demanding more dowry so that Venkatesha could start a business and buy a property in Bengaluru.

Lakshmi’s body was found in a pond near the house on July 19, 2008. The four accused were charged under Section 306 (abetment of suicide), 304B (dowry death), 498A (cruelty to woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and various sections of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

The Trial Court sentenced Venkatesha to seven years imprisonment after finding him guilty on all charges. His parents and brother, who was a practising advocate in the High Court, were acquitted. The prosecution challenged the acquittal of the three and approached the HC.

Venkatesha also approached the HC with an appeal challenging his conviction. The division bench of Justice HB Prabhakara Sastry and Justice Anil B Katti gave a common judgement on the two appeals.

The HC noted that Lakshmi had filed a complaint against her husband (accused number one) alleging harassment following which a panchayat was held. Her husband had also assaulted her for which she had taken treatment in a hospital.

The incident happened just days before her body was found. The HC said that the allegations of abetment of suicide and dowry death cannot be proved against the parents of Venkatesha and his brother (who were accused numbers two to four).

However, they were guilty under Section 498A of the IPC for cruelty shown towards the victim.

The HC concluded that “Therefore, the acquittal of accused Nos.2 to 4 for the offence under Section 498A of IPC cannot be legally sustained and the acquittal of accused Nos.2 to 4 for the remaining offence does not call for any interference. The Trial Court was justified in convicting accused No.1 for the offences alleged against him." (CrlA 364/2016)