Supreme Court of India
SATISH SHETTYversusSTATE OF KARNATAKA
- Citation
- 2016 INSC 436
- Decided
- 3 June 2016
- Disposal
- Dismissed
- Bench
- DIPAK MISRA
Holding
The Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s conviction of the appellant under IPC sections 498A and 306, affirming the exercise of the presumption under Evidence Act s.113A.
Summary
The Supreme Court examined the appeal of Satish Shetty, convicted under IPC sections 498A (cruelty) and 306 (abetment of suicide) for the death of his wife, who had left a ten‑month‑old son and was twenty weeks pregnant. The High Court had set aside the trial court’s acquittal, invoking the presumption under Evidence Act s.113A despite a delayed FIR, and found that the husband had subjected the wife to physical and mental harassment to extract dowry. The appellant argued that the delay in filing the FIR should not be condoned, that there was no charge under s.306, and that the evidence was insufficient. The Supreme Court held that the High Court was justified in its findings, that the delay could be sympathetically explained, that the presumption under s.113A could be exercised, and that the conviction under s.306 was proper. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed and the appellant’s bail bonds were cancelled, ordering him to serve the remaining sentence.
Issues considered
- The propriety of condoning delay in lodging the FIR in a dowry‑death/IPC 498A case.
- Whether the High Court was justified in overturning the trial court’s acquittal and convicting under IPC sections 498A and 306.
- Whether a conviction under IPC 306 can be sustained in the absence of a specific charge under that section.
- Whether the evidence established cruelty sufficient to attract IPC 498A and the presumption under Evidence Act s.113A.
- Whether the High Court correctly exercised its discretion under Evidence Act s.113A to raise the presumption of abetment.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973s. 174
- Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961s. 3, s. 4, s. 6
- Indian Evidence Act, 1872s. 113A
- Indian Penal Code, 1860s. 304B, s. 306, s. 498A
Subjects
Dowry deathSection 498ASection 306Presumption under Section 113ADelay in FIRCrueltyAbetment of suicideEvidence evaluationHigh Court interference
Judgment
[2016] 3 S.C.R. 145
SATISH SHETTY A
v.
STATE OF KARNATAKA
(Criminal Appeal No.1358 of2008)
JUNE 3, 2016 8
[DIPAK MISRA AND SHIVA KIRTI SINGH, JJ.]
Penal Code, 1860 - ss. 498A, 306 - Dowry Prohibition Act,
1961 - Commission of suicide by 25 year old women within two
and a half years of marriage - Victim having 10 month old son and
a pregnancy of twenty ll'eek - Acquittal of husband and his parents
c
for offences punishable u!ss. 3, 4, 6 of the 1961 Act and ss. 498A
and 304B - However, the High Court convicted the husband u!s.
498A with rigorous imprisonment of three years and u!s. 306 with
RI for five years - 011 appeal, held: There was good explanation
for the delay in lodging the FIR - Victims closest telation-mother D
was a poor helpless lady and deceased had left behind children,
thus, the factum of delay to be dealt with sympathetically - Judgment
of the trial court Sl!tfered from such gross errors in approach and
appreciation that it could not be saved on the principle that if two
views are possible, there should be no inte1ference with a judgment
E
and order of acquittal - Furthe1; since the High Court recorded a
finding against the husband of causing cruelty to the deceased for
his conviction u/s. 498-A, all the essential ingredients for raising· of
presumption uls. l l 3A clearly made out - High Court gave good
reasons on the basis of facts brought on record through evidence
for exercising the discretion of invoking the presumption uls. l l 3A F
- Husband failed to rebut the presumptions raised against him u!s.
l l 3A - Tims, the order passed by the High Court is upheld -
Evidence Act, 1872 - s. 113A.
Dismissing the appeal, the Court
HELD: 1.1 On the basis of relevant facts the High Court G
appears to be justified in holding that there is good explanation for
the delay in lodging the FIR because PW-15 delayed the inquest
proceedings without valid reasons leading to delay in the
postmortem examination as well and only on knowledge of the
H
145
146 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 3 S.C.R.
A injuries etc. the mother of the deceased gathered strength to lodge
the FIR. When the deceased died leaving a son of ten months old
the mother of the deceased had many other things to worry for,
including cremation of the dead body and in such circumstances
the High Court was justified in criticizing the trial court for its hyper
technical approach in blaming the mother of the deceased for lodging
B
a delayed complaint. Delay in lodging the FIR or complaint is not
fatal in all cases. The Court must show some sensitivity in cases of
the instant nature where the victim's closest relation - mother is a
poor helpless lady. Even a well to do person may suffer a state of
mental confusion when struck by such a tragedy. The prosecution
c in such cases is likely to be delayed further if the deceased has left
behind children. The issues relating to their safety and custody
often require higher priority. Occurrences of the present nature
require lodging of criminal case against persons who are already
in the category of relation by virtue of matrimonial ties through the
deceased and it is not always easy to take a decision whether to
D
lodge a criminal case against a relation or not. Hence in such cases
the factum of delay has to be dealt with sympathetically keeping in
mind the mental condition of the close relations of the victim. (Para
11] (152-E-H; 153-A-B(
1.2 There is no merit in the submission that the judgment and
E order of the acquittal was not perverse or that it required no
interference of the High Court. The views of the High Court are
sound and it is accepted that the judgment of the trial court suffered
from such gross errors in approach and. appreciation that it could
not be saved on the principle that if two views are possible, there
F should be no interference with a judgment and order of acquittal.
Hence, High Court proceeded to convict the appellant for the
offences u/ss. 498-A and 306 IPC. [Paras 13, 23) [153-F-G; 157-G)
1.3 In the instant case, after noticing the injuries on the person
of victim which is not at all explained by the appellant husband
although in the fateful night he and the deceased slept together in
G the same room before she consumed poison, the High Court came
to a well considered finding that the deceased was being harassed
both physically and mentally and in direct as well as indirect ways
for non compliance with the demand of the accused for Rs.1,00,000/
- for investment in his wine business. The High Court found that
H such harassment falls squarely under clause (b) of the explanation
SATISH SHETTY v. STATE OF KARNATAKA 147
of Section 498-A IPC. There is no good reason to take a different A
view. [Para 17) [155-G-H; 156-A-B)
1.4 Since the High Court had recorded a finding against the
appellant of causing cruelty to the deceased for his conviction
under Section 498-A, all the essential ingredients for raising of
presumption under Section 113A of the Evidence Act were clearly B
made out. But as regards the issue whether the High Court was
justified in resorting to exercise such a discretion as was available
to it under Section 113A or not, that the Court has a discretion in
the matter of resorting to presumption is clear from the plain
words used in that Section-"the Court may presume". [Paras 19
and 201 J156-E-FJ c
1.5 Once the prosecution succeeds in establishing the
component of cruelty leading to conviction u/s. 498A, only in a
r.are case, the Court can refuse to invoke the presumption of
abetment, if other requirements of Section 113A of the Evidence
Act stand satisfied. In the instant case, the High Court gave good D
reasons on the basis of facts brought on record through evidence
for exercising the discretion of invoking the presumption u/s.
113A. The High Court found the later explanations unacceptable
and the initial explanation that the deceased committed suicide
because she was not permitted to go to her mother's place does E
not inspire confidence and was rightly rejected by the High Court.
Only for such a trivial matter, a hale and hearty young woman
having a ten months old son and a pregnancy of twenty weeks is
not at all expected to take her life. The appellant not only gave
absolutely no explanation for the injuries on the person of the
deceased, rather he chose to conceal them by keeping mum. F
Clearly the appellant failed to rebut the presumptions raised
against him u/s. 113A of the Act. [Para 24) [157-H; 158-A-D]
Pedda Narayana and others v. State of Andhra Pradesh
(1975) 4 SCC 153 : 1975 (0) Suppl. SCR 84; K. Prema
S. Rao and another v. Yadla Srinivasa Rao and others G
(2003) 1 SCC 217 : 2002 (3) Suppt SCR 339; Hans
Raj 1( State of Haryana (2004) 12 SCC 257 : 2004 (2)
SCR 678; Gangula Mohan Reddy v. State of Andhra
Pradesh (2010) 1 SCC 750 : 2010 (1) SCR 7; M.
Mohan v. State (2011) 3 SCC 626 : 2011 (3) SCR 437;
H
148 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016) 3 S.C.R.
A Mangat Ram v. State of Haryana (2014) 12 SCC 595 :
2014 (4) SCR 988; Narayanamurthy v. State of
Karnataka (2008) 16 SCC 512 : 2008 (8) SCR 403 -
referred to.
Case Law Reference
B 1975 (0) Suppl. SCR 84 referred to Para 10
2002 (3) Suppl. SCR 339 referred to Para 14
200_4. (2) SCR 678 referred to Para 21
2010 (1) SCR 7 referred to Para 21
201.1. (3) SCR 437 referred to Para 22
c
2014_(4) SCR 988 referred to Para22
2008 (8) SCR 403 referred to Para 23
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal No.
1358 of2008.
D
From the Judgment and Order dated 13.09.2007 of the High Court
of Karnataka at Bangalore, in Criminal Appeal No. 1409 of2000.
P. Vishwanatha Shetty, Sr. Adv., Ms. A. Sumathi, Adv. for the
Appellant.
V. N. Raghupathy, Adv. for the Respondent.
E
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
SHIVA KIRTI SINGH, J. I. This appeal by special leave is
directed against judgment and order dated 13.09.2007 passed by a
Division Bench of High Court of Karnataka at Bangalore in Criminal
F Appeal No. 1409 of2000 preferred by the State against judgment dated
16.09.2000 by First Additional Sessions Judge, D.K. Mangalore in SC
No. 150194 whereby the appellant and both his parents were acquitted
foroffences punishable under Sections 3, 4 and 6 of the Dowry Prohibition
Act and under Sections 498-A and 304-B of the Indian Penal Code
(!PC). By the impugned order High Court has reversed the judgment of
G
acquittal in part. It has convicted the appellant, the husband of the victim
lady, for the offence under Section 498-A with punishment of rigorous
imprisonment (RI) of three years and a fine ofRs.5000/- with a default
clause. The appellant has also been convicted for the offence under
Section 306 of the IPC with RI for five years and a fine of Rs. I 0,000/-
H , again with a default clause. Both the sentences are to run concurrently.
SATISH SHETTY v. STATE OF KARNATAKA 149
[SHIVA KIRT! SINGH, J.]
If realized, the tine amount is to be paid to PW-6 Gulabi, mother of the A
deceased, if she is alive.
2. Learned senior counsel Mr. P. Vishwanatha Shetty appearing
for the appellant has raised three main contentions to assail the judgment
and order under appeal. According to him, the judgment and order of
acquittal was not a perverse judgment and required no interference by B
the High Court. Secondly, it is contended that in absence of any charge
framed under Section 306 of!PC by the trial court the High Court should
not have convicted the appellant under that Section. Lastly but not the
least, is the contention that there is no evidence on record to justify the
conviction of the appellant by the High Court for any of the charges.
c
3. Mr. V. N. Raghupathy learned counsel for the respondent has,
on the other hand, strenuously refuted all the aforesaid three submissions
and has placed reliance on the relevant materials on record as well as
the discussions made by the High Court in the impugned order to fully
support that judgment and order reversing the acquittal of the appellant
to the extent indicated above. D
4. Before adverting to specific contentions for deciding the main
issue whether the impugned judgment and order requires interference, it
will be useful and relevant to take note of the factual matrix of this case.
The story of the deceased young lady, aged about 25 years who was
forced to commit suicide by the unfortunate situation and circumstances E
surrounding her life, resembles the tale of so many similar young ladies
who end their life due to untold miseries and hardships faced by them
within the confines of the four walls of their matrimonial home. All of
them enter such home with hope of leading a long and blissful married
life but this hope, invariably, does not last long, nor their life. In the present F
case the victim left behind a son then aged about ten months and she
was also mothering a life of twenty weeks in her womb. The deceased
Rekha @ Baby was married with the appellant on 5.06.1991 and
immediately she began her stay in matrimonial home with her husband
and in-laws and a son was also born to them who on the date of her
death i.e. 19. 11.1993 was aged about ten months. There is no dispute G
regarding her death and even as per the Unnatural Death Report (UDR)
exhibit Ex.P.20, lodged by the appellant with the local police station on
19.11.1993 at 9.45 a.m, she died of some poison which she had consumed
allegedly because the appellant forbade her from going to her mother's
place in the morning hours of 18.11.1993. As described in the said report, H
150 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 3 S.C.R.
A the victim had consumed a poison which was kept for spray In the fields.
She had been taken to hospital but expired there at around 8 a.m. As
per version of the occurrence given by the appellant, the deceased and
he were living a very happy life. He was satisfied with the money and
gold given at the time of marriage as dowry and was apparently at a loss
as to why the deceased consumed poison.
B
5. The records have been carefully noticed by the High Court and
they reveal that the police/the investigating agency, soon after learning
about the occurrence made a request to the Tehsildar (Executive
Magistrate), PW-15 to conduct inquest proceedings under Section 174
of Criminal Procedure Code. The High Court has rightly condemned the
c Tehsildar's action in causing undue delay and holding the inquest two
days later on 22.11.1993. It was after the inquest that the mother of the
deceased, Gulabi, PW-6 lodged the complaint with the police on
22.11.1993 and on that basis police registered a Criminal Case No. 136/
93 for offences under Section 498-A, 304-B of the !PC and Sections 3
D and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. After investigation police submitted
chargesheet against the husband of the deceased and his parents only.
Subsequently another relation was summoned as accused no. 4 under
Section 319 of CrPC.
6. Dr. M.R. Shetty, PW-8 has proved the postmortem report. He
E has deposed that he conducted the autopsy on the deceased in the
afternoon of22. l l .1993 along with another Doctor and found the following
wounds on the dead body:
I. Transverse contusion across the lower part of the rt. Thigh 2"
abovethekneejoint2" in length.
F 2. Haematoma 6" x 3" on the lower part of the left thigh with
abrasion of different sizes on it;
3. Abrasion on the rt. Lumbar region 2-1/2";
4. Abrasion on the back of the 11. Thigh 2-1/2";
G 5. Multiple small abrasions on the rt. Hand of different sizes; and
6. Blood strained fluid from the nostrils.
He had found a twenty weeks embryo in the womb of the deceased.
He deposed that as per subsequent chemical lab report of the viscera,
the death was because of consumption ofOrgano phosphorous chemical.
H
SATISH SHETTY v. STATE OF KARNATAKA 151
[SHIVA KIRTI SINGH, J.]
The Doctor has also deposed that the wounds were ante-mortem caused A
by hard and blunt object but they did not cause the death. The unnatural
death of the victim within seven years of marriage is not in dispute.
7. The High Court has scrutinized the deposition of mother of the
deceased PW-6 and her two younger brothers PW-9 and PW-20 for
coming to a finding that at the time of marriage they had to arrange B
money to meet the demand of the husband of the deceased for payment
of dowry in cash and gold. The witnesses on this aspect were found
trust-worthy and not indulging into exaggeration or false allegations. The
trial court on the other hand went into unnecessary details to discuss this
issue on the basis of capacity of the complainant to pay, source of money
arranged by her and whether actually money had been paid at the c
professed place or not. Though there is difference in the amount but
nonetheless in the UDR complaint in Ex.P20 the appellant has admitted
of taking Rs.25,000/- as dowry. The High Court has rightly held that the
trial court should not have gone into further details. The only relevant
issue was initial payment of dowry and not its quantum. But this aspect D
need not be pursued further because the High Court has also, while
relying on the evidence of the prosecution that one year after the marriage
during her visit to her mother the deceased had infonned that the accused
were harassing her by making a demand for additional dowry of 20
sovereigns of gold and Rs.1,00,000/- for investment by the appellant in a
wine shop, has held that such subsequent demand being unrelated to E
marriage, need not be accepted as demand for dowry and therefore the
offence under Section 304 of the IPC is not attracted. In this regard it
was noticed that in Section 304 of the !PC as per the explanation, "dowry"
shall have the same meaning as in Section 2 of the Dowry Pro~ibition
Act, 1961. F
8. The High Court has considered the issue whether Section 498-
A and 306 of the !PC are attracted or not and after extracting the relevant
provisions as well as Section I 13A of the Evidence Act, has held the
appellant guilty of the offences under Section 498-A and 306 of the !PC.
For that the High Court has relied upon relevant materials consisting of G
oral evidence available on record as well as documentary evidence in
the forms of letters. Before discussing whether the High Court has
committed any error of facts or law on this issue, it is useful to examine
the first contention advanced on behalf of the appellant that the High
Court should not have interfered with the acquittal of appellant.
H
152 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 3 S.C.R.
A 9. As already noticed, on the issue whether the marriage was
performed after demanding and accepting dowry, the High Court found
the approach of the trial court totally erroneous. The findings were found
to be vitiated on account of trial Judge ignoring the glaring facts emerging
from deposition of PW-6, 9 and 20 as well as PW 13 and 16 and also by
ignoring the admission of the accused in the UDR complaint at Ex.P.20.
B
I0. The High Court has further rightly held that the trial Judge
failed to look for the relevant documents already available on the record
and wrongly drew inference against the prosecution for not producing
the statements of PW-6 and other relations of the deceased recorded by
Taluka Executive Magistrate under Section 174 CrPC proceedings.
c Presently it is not disputed that those statements were/are available on
record along with the inquest report. It is noted that such erroneous
approach of the trial court had strong influence on its judgment rendering
it perverse. In fact, had the trial court applied its mind to the scope of
Section 174 of the Cr Pc as explained by this Court in the case of Pedda
D Narayana and others v. State of Andhra Pradesh', such gross error
could have been avoided because such statements do not have much
legal weight as they are beyond the scope of inquest proceedings under
Section 174 ofCrPC.
11. On the basis of relevant facts the High Court appears to be
E justified in holding that there is good explanation for the delay in lodging
the FIR on 22.11.1993 because PW-15 delayed the inquest proceedings
without valid reasons leading to delay in the postmortem examination as
well and only on knowledge of the injuries etc. the mother of the deceased
gathered strength to lodge the FIR. When the deceased died leaving a
son often months old the mother of the deceased had many other things
F to worry for, including cremation of the dead body and in such
circumstances the High Court was justified in criticizing the trial court
for its hyper technical approach in blaming the mother of the deceased
for lodging a delayed complaint. It will be useful to remember that delay
in lodging the Fl R or complaint is not fatal in all cases. The Court must
G show some sensitivity in cases of present nature where the victim's
closest relation - mother is a poor helpless lady. Even a well to do person
may suffer a state of mental confusion when struck by such a tragedy.
The prosecution in such cases is likely to be delayed further ifthe deceased
has left behind children. The issues relating to their safety and custody
H
1
(1975)4 sec 153 =AIR 1915 sc 1252
SATISH SHETTY v. STATE OF KARNATAKA 153
[SHIVA KIRTI SINGH, J.]
often require higher priority. Occurrences of the present nature require A
lodging of criminal case against persons who are already in the category
of relation by virtue of matrimonial ties through the deceased and it is
not always easy to take a decision whether to lodge a criminal case
against a relation or not. Hence in such cases the factum of delay has to
be dealt with sympathetically keeping in mind the mental condition of the
B
close relations of the victim. The trial court miserably failed on this count
too.
12. The evidence of PW-6 mother of the deceased is well supported
by PW-7 Pratap, a cousin of the deceased who had visited the deceased
during Dushera holidays, a month prior to her death. He found that the
deceased was getting continuous ill-treatment by her husband. He has c
deposed to the extent that the deceased requested PW-7 not to disclose
the ill-treatment to her mother because she would get upset. The letters
contained in Ex P-7 dated 27.9.1993 and exhibit D-3 dated 28.10.1993
have been discussed by both the Courts below. We are in agreement
with the views of the High Court that those letters written respectively D
by the deceased to her mother and by sister of the deceased to the
deceased, do not help the defence at all. The trial court had clearly
adopted a perverse approach in appreciating those letters as if they are
in favour of the defence. Further, the correct and logical inferences
from these documents were rejected by the trial court in paragraph 37
E
of the judgment by again resorting to adverse inference on the incorrect
ground that statements of PW-6 and PW-9 recorded by the Tehsildar at
the time of conducting inquest were not produced before the Court. As
already noticed earlier, these statements formed part of the inquest report
and were available on record.
13. In view of aforesaid discussions we find no merit in the first F
contention that the judgment and order of the acquittal was not perverse
or that it required no interference of the High Court. The views of the
High Court on this issue are sound and we are in agreement that the
judgment of the trial court suffered from such gross errors in approach
and appreciation that it could not be saved on the principle that if two G
views are possible, there should be no interference with a judgment and
order of acquittal.
14. So far as the second contention is concerned, the same needs
to be noticed only for rejection. To be fair to the learned counsel, he has
not dealt on this contention at any length nor has cited any judgment. H
154 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 3 S.C.R.
A The High Court on the other hand dealt with the issue of conviction
under Section 306 of the IPC in absence of a charge under that head in
detail in paragraphs 44 and 45. It has also noticed some judgments of the
Kamataka High Court and this Court in paragraph 44. The issue is
definitely not res integra in view ofjudgment of this Court in somewhat
similar circumstances in the case of K. Pre ma S. Rao and another v.
B
Yadia Srinivasa Rao and others~. In that case the acquittal of the
husband of the deceased under 304-B IPC was not reversed but this
Court while upholding the conviction of the all the three accused under
Section 498-A IPC, further convicted the husband of the victim under
Section 306 IPC after discussing issues relating to absence of a charge
c under Section 306 IPC in a case of suicide when the relevant and material
facts are already part of charge under Section 498-A and 304-B of the
IPC. That judgment rendered tJy a Bench of Three Judges in somewhat
identical facts, in our view leaves no scope for accepting the second
contention on behalf of the appellant.
D 15. The last contention on behalf of the appellant that there is no
evidence to justify the conviction of the appellant for any of the charges,
indirectly stands negated by our discussions and findings in respect of
the first contention itself. However to consider the legality of the view
taken by the High Court we propose to deal with this issue further after
taking note of the relevant provisions oflaw i.e. Sections 498-A and 306
E of the lPC as well as Section I 13A of the Evidence Act which are
extracted below:
"Section 498-A. Husba11d or relative of husband of a 11•0111a11
subjecting her to cruelty.-Whoever, being the husband or the
relative of the husband of a woman, subjects such woman to cruelty
F shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend
to three years and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation.-For the purpose of this section, 'cruelty' means-
(a) any ll'iljul conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to
G drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or
danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the
woman; or
(b) harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a
view to coercing her or any person related to her to meet any
----
H '(2003)JSCC217
SATISH SHETTY v. STATE OF KARNAT1~KA 155
[SHIVA Kf1cffl SINGH, J.]
unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on A
account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet
such demand."
Section 306. Abetment of suicide.-lf any person commits
suicide, whoever abets the commission of such suicide, shall be
punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which B
may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Section 113-A. Presumption as to abetment of suicide by a
marriedwoman.-When the question is whether the commission
of suicide by a woman had been abetted by her husband or any
relative of her husband and it is shown that she had committed c
suicide within a period of seven years from the date of her
marriage and that her husband or such relative of her husband
had subjected her to cruelty, the Court may presume, having
regard to all the other circumstances of the case, that such suicide
had been abetted by her husband or by such relative of her husband.
D
Expla11atio11.-For the purposes of this section, 'cruelty' shall
have the same meaning as in Section 498-A of the Indian Penal
Code."
16. On a plain reading of Section 498-A it transpires that if a married
woman is subjected to cruelty by the husband or his relative, the offender E
is liable to be punished with the sentence indicated in the Section. But
cruelty can be of different types and therefore what kind of cruelty
would constitute offence has been defined under the explanation. As
per first definition contained in clause (a)- it means a willful conduct of
such a nature which is likely to drive the victim woman to commit suicide
or to cause grave injuries to health and life, limb or health (mental or F
physical). The other definition of cruelty is in clause (b) and is attracted
when a woman is harassed with a view to coercing her or any of her
relation to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security
or is on account of failure to meet such demand.
17. In the present case after noticing the injuries on the person of G
victim which is not at all explained by the appellant husband although in
the fateful night he and the deceased slept together in the same room
before she consumed poison, the High Court has come to a well
considered finding in paragraph 42 of the impugned judgment that the
deceased was being harassed both physically and mentally and in direct
H
156 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 3 S.C.R.
A as well as indirect ways for non compliance with the demand of the
accused for Rs.1,00,000/- for investment in his wine business. The High
Court found that such harassment falls squarely under clause (b) of the
explanation of Section 498-A of the IPC. We find no good reason to
take a different view.
B 18. The High Court after recording the aforesaid finding proceeded
to consider whether Section 306 of the IPC is also attracted against the
appellant or not. Since the High Court had, on relevant material returned
a finding of guilt under Section 498-A of the !PC, it found the
circumstances of the case right and proper for resorting to Section 113A
of the Evidence Act which permits raising of presumption as to abetment
c to suicide by a married woman. Such a statutory presumption though
discretionary, may be presumed by the Court in appropriate cases where
the question of abetment of suicide by a woman is under consideration
in respect of her husband or any of his relative and if the suicide has
been committed within seven years of marriage, provided the husband
D or such relative had subjected her to cruelty.
19. Since the High Court had recorded a finding against the appellant
of causing cruelty to the deceased for his conviction under Section 498-
A, all the essential ingredients for raising of presumption under Section
l 13A of the Evidence Act were clearly made out. But the issue raised
E before us is whether the High Court was justified in reso11ing to exercise
such a discretion as was available to it under Section I 13A or not.
20. That the Court has a discretion in the matter of resorting to
presumption is clear from the plain words used in that Section - "the
Court may presume" (emphasis supplied). The law on this issue is also
F well settled and therefore needs no elaborate discussion but at this stage
the relevant case laws cited by learned senior counsel for the appellant
need to be taken note of.
21. Reliance has been placed on behalfofappellant on the judgment
of this Court in the case of Hans Raj v. State ofHaryana 3 • In this case
G it was reiterated that Section l l 3A of the Evidence Act vests a discretion
in the Court to raise such a presumption having regard to all the other
circumstances of the case. On evidence and facts of that case it was
found that the nature of cruelty proved in that case was not such as is
likely to drive the women to commit suicide or to cause grievous injury
H ' (2004) 12 sec 2s1
SATISH SHETTY v. STATE OF KARNATAKA 157
[SHIVA KIRTI SINGH, J.]
etc. Reliance was also placed upon the case ofGangula Mohan Reddy A
v. State of Andhra Pradesh". The facts of that case were entirely
different and required interpretation of the term "abetment" as defined
under Section I 07 of the IPC. In that case the victim was a servant of
the accused and the case did not require any examination of inter-
dependence and inter-connectivity of Section 498A and 306 of the !PC
B
or of Section I I 3A of the Evidence Act.
22. Reliance was also placed upon case of M. Mohan v. State5•
The Court followed the general law with regard to ingredients of abetment
in the context of Section 306 of the IPC and quashed the prosecution of
some of the relations of the husband on the peculiar facts of the case
which disclosed that there was no allegation of any dowry demand or c
instigation against those appellants although they were relatives of the
husband. In the case of Mangat Ram v. State of Haryana 6 , this Court
acquitted the appellant who was husband of the deceased forthe offences
under Sections 498-A and 306 of the IPC on the ground that the
prosecution had not succeeded in establishing the offences. The accused D
had merely left the deceased wife in the matrimonial home in the company
of his parents while proceeding to report for duty as a constable to another
place. This Cou1i held that such action would not amount to abetment to
commit suicide.
23. The aforesaid case laws do not lay down any proposition of E
law which may warrant interference with the views of the High Court in
the impugned judgment. In the case of Narayanamurthy v. State of
Karnataka' the law was reiterated that if on appreciation of evidence
two views are possible then the appellate court should not interfere with
the judgment of acquittal in favour of the accused. There is no quarrel
with the said proposition. The High Court was aware of such legal principle F
and keeping the same in mind, it has discussed the evidence for coming
to a conclusion that the findings of the trial court leading to acquittal
were fully unwarranted and it is not a case where two views are possible.
Hence the High Court proceeded to convict the appellant for the offences
under Sections 498-A and 306 of the !PC. G
24. Once the prosecution succeeds 'in establishing the component
't201oi 1 sec 750
'(2011 l 3 sec 626
"(2014) 12 sec 595
't2oosi 16 sec s12 H
158 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2016] 3 S.C.R.
A of cruelty leading to conviction under Section 498A, in our view only in
a rare case, the Court can refuse to invoke the presumption of abetment,
if other requirements of Section 113A of the Evidence Act stand satisfied.
This proposition is amply supported by the view taken by the three-
Judge Bench of this Court in the case of K. Prema S. Rao and Anr.
(Supra). Further, the High Court has given good reasons on the basis of
B
facts brought on record through evidence for exercising the discretion
of invoking the presumption under Section 113A of the Evidence Act
and thereafter it has discussed in detail the explanations given by the
appellant in the initial version by way of Unnatural Death Report as well
as the later explanations. The High Court found the later explanations
c unacceptable and the initial explanation that the deceased committed
suicide because she was not permitted to go to her mother's place does
not inspire confidence and has rightly been rejected by the High Court.
Only for such a trivial matter, a hale and hearty young woman having a
ten months old son and a pregnancy of twenty weeks is not at all expected
to take her life. The appellant not only gave absolutely no explanation
D
for the injuries on the person of the deceased, rather he chose to conceal
them by keeping mum. Clearly the appellant failed to rebut the
presumptions raised against him under Section I I 3A of the Evidence
Act. Having gone through the relevant facts and the reasonings of the
trial court we are not persuaded to take a different view.
E 25. In the result the appeal must fail. We order accordingly. As a
consequence, the bail bonds of the appellant are cancelled. He be taken
into custody forthwith to serve out the remaining pa11 of the sentence as
per law.
Nidhi Jain Appeal dismissed.
F
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