Delhi court acquits man of dowry death, says case "must be true"

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Delhi's Dwarka Court recently acquitted a man of charges related to dowry death, citing benefits of the doubt. There is a long distance between "may be true" and "must be true", the court said in the judgement. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Sharad Gupta acquitted the accused, Satender Gautam, of offences under Section 498A IPC (cruelty for dowry) and Section 304B IPC (dowry death). The court concluded that the prosecution failed to prove its case against accused Satender Gautam by leading convincing or cogent evidence.

"Prosecution case may be true but criminal jurisprudence says that prosecution case must be true. There is a long distance between "may be true" and "must be true," the court said."It is a cardinal princ iple of criminal jurisprudence that an accused is presumed to be innocent. The burden lies on the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt. The prosecution is under a legal obligation to prove each and every ingredient of offence beyond any doubt, unless otherwise so provided by any statute. This general burden never shifts, it always rests on the prosecution," ASJ Gupta said in the judgement passed on July 29.

The court held that the prosecution has not been able to bring on record any material to show that the accused had instigated the deceased to commit suicide by any instigation or active act or omission. The prosecution's version is that there was a quarrel between the deceased and the accused one day before the death of the deceased. The court said that Fights between husband and wife are a normal part of domestic wear and tear and are a part of everyday life. It could not be said that the accused by quarrelling with the deceased had intended to abet the suicide of Poonam Sharma.

"This is especially more so as there is nothing on record except the testimony of the deceased's friend regarding the said fight and even she in her examination in chief stated that she thought it to be a normal quarrel between husband and wife. Hence even the offence under Section 306 is not made out in the facts of the present case," the court said. Gautam was charged in the case after an FIR was filed against him at Najafgarh police station in 2011. The FIR was filed following a complaint by Kamlesh Devi, who alleged that her daughter had committed suicide due to harassment and dowry demands by Gautam.

Advocate Pujya Kumar Singh argued that the allegations levelled against the accused are not true and he is falsely implicated in this case. The accused stated that after the death of his wife, he came to know that her parents and other family members used to harass her over phone calls for inter-caste marriage between her and the accused. The accused also stated that he has been falsely implicated since the family of the deceased was unhappy with his marriage with the deceased.

The deceased, Poonam Sharma, had committed suicide on November 26, 2011. She had married Gautam in 2009 in Khurja, UP, in a love marriage. They were residing in Najafgarh at the time of her death.

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