accused in dowry murder acquitted

New Delhi. A Delhi court has acquitted a husband and his parents for allegedly brutalizing his wife and abetting her suicide over dowry demand. While giving this verdict, the court said that ordinary acts of taunting in the fabric of the family do not become cruelty. In fact, the accused were accused of abetting the victim to commit suicide. The court said that it cannot be proved that the deceased was subjected to cruelty or harassment. There was no evidence to show that the accused abetted the victim to commit suicide.

The court said that the testimony of the deceased’s mother does not show that other than taunting the deceased, any cruelty was committed. The court said that ordinary acts of taunting within the fabric of a family are not cruelty. Cruelty means harassment under section 498-A of IPC with a view to compel the woman or her parents to satisfy any unlawful demand for property.

Let us tell you that a woman had ended her life by hanging within 15 months of marriage. The parents of the deceased had alleged that the husband and in-laws used to harass their daughter for dowry. The husband was also accused of abetment to suicide.

Additional Sessions Judge Neeraj Gaur observed that the prosecution failed to prove that the deceased was subjected to cruelty or harassment or any demand for dowry, shortly before her death. The judge, in an order dated August 27, said that the evidence on record does not show that the deceased was subjected to cruelty under section 498A of the IPC.