A Delhi court acquitted a man and his family in a suicide case allegedly tied to dowry demands, stressing that not all married women’s suicides are due to harassment. The judge, citing insufficient evidence and inconsistencies in witness testimonies, highlighted that a mere unnatural death within seven years of marriage does not warrant automatic convictions.
New Delhi: A Delhi court has acquitted a man and his family members in the suicide case of his wife, allegedly driven by dowry demands, and underscored that not every suicide by a married woman is presumed to be caused by harassment. Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Pahuja delivered the verdict on December 18, exonerating the accused due to insufficient evidence.
The case, registered by Malviya Nagar police station, invoked charges under penal provisions for dowry death and cruelty to a married woman. The prosecution alleged that the woman, married in February 2012, was subjected to cruelty and dowry demands by her husband’s family, which led her to take her life in September of the same year.
Judge Pahuja’s verdict highlighted the shortcomings in the prosecution’s case.
“In view of the tainted and blemished testimony of the prosecution witnesses and due to lack of cogent evidence lead on the record, this court is of the view that prosecution has miserably failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt,”
the judgment read.
Key testimonies from the woman’s mother, three brothers, and sister were rejected due to inconsistencies, improvements, and bald allegations. The court observed “substantial improvements” in their statements, which were not present in earlier records, damaging their credibility.
The court also noted that neither the woman’s diary entries nor her suicide note contained allegations of dowry demands, harassment, or cruelty against the accused.
Citing a 2010 Delhi High Court judgment, Judge Pahuja stated,
“There is no presumption that every suicide committed by a married woman in her in-laws’ house or at her parents’ house has to be because she was suffering harassment at the hands of her husband or her in-law. Suicides are committed by living human beings for various reasons…“
The judgment further noted that circumstantial evidence pointed to mutual love and absence of complaints during the deceased’s lifetime.
“It is well-known maxim that the men may speak lies but the circumstances do not,”
the court emphasized.
The court ruled that the sole fact of unnatural death within seven years of marriage was insufficient to convict the accused. Granting them the benefit of the doubt, the court acquitted the husband and his family, reaffirming the necessity for robust evidence in such cases.
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