Mitali Palnitkar
Published On: December 28, 2021 at 12:10 IST
Supreme Court held that the presumption of Dowry Death can be made when the mental and physical harassment of the wife takes place close before her death in the marital home.
The interpretation of Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code (Dowry Death) was done by a Bench led by the Chief Justice of India N V Ramana. The Bench comprised of the Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, Jutice Hima Kohli and Justice Surya Kant.
The Judgment was authored by Justice Hima Kohli who stated, “The cruelty has to be proved during the close proximity of time of death. It should be continuous. Such continuous harassment, physical or mental, by the accused should make life of the deceased miserable which may force her to commit suicide.”
A married woman’s death could be linked to the crime if she was harassed for dowry “soon before her death”. In general sense, the expression “soon before her death” implies that the period between the harassment and the death should not be much.
The Bench noted, “In other words, there must be an existence of a proximate and live link between the effect of cruelty based on dowry demand and the death concerned. If the alleged incident of cruelty is remote in time and has become stale enough not to disturb the mental equilibrium of the women concerned, it would be of no consequence.”
Justice Kohli stated, “Section 304B IPC read in conjunction with Section 113B of the Evidence Act leaves no manner of doubt that once the Prosecution has been able to demonstrate that a woman has been subjected to cruelty or harassment for or in connection with any demand for dowry, soon before her death, the Court shall proceed on a presumption that the persons who have subjected her to cruelty or harassment in connection with the demand for dowry, have caused a Dowry Death within the meaning of Section 304B IPC.”
In 1997, in Bihar, the Case of a woman where she was marred by constant harassment for dowry only a few months after her marriage and later died; the Judgment was delivered. The body of the woman was found several days after the filing of missing report on the river bank. The Conviction of the husband was confirmed by Lower courts and the Supreme Court concluded that she was pushed into the river by her husband.
The Judgment also stated, “The presumption is, however, rebuttable and can be dispelled on the Accused being able to demonstrate through cogent evidence that the ingredients of Section 304B have not been satisfied.”