Dowry Death case: Delhi HC sets aside conviction of family members 24 years after life sentence

The Delhi High Court on Thursday acquitted all surviving members of a family convicted in a 1988 dowry death case. 

A Division Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja set aside the 24-year-old trial court order sentencing them to life imprisonment. 

During the pendency of the proceedings, two accused persons - the deceased woman’s husband Raj Pal and her mother-in-law Phoolwati - died. Therefore, the proceedings against them abated. 

The Court today quashed the conviction order against the remaining three family members, the victim’s brother-in-law (Jaswant) and two sisters-in-law (Suresh and Dhanpati). 

It ruled that the prosecution failed to establish the family members’ guilt beyond reasonable doubt and that there were serious concerns over the reliability of the deceased woman's dying declarations.

“We find that the alleged dying declarations made by the deceased are not wholly reliable and have an element of doubt. The other surrounding circumstances alleged by the prosecution also do not form a complete chain that can persuade us to form an opinion that the appellants are guilty of the offence charged beyond reasonable doubt. Therefore, we hold that the prosecution has been unable to establish the charge against the appellants beyond reasonable doubt,” the Court observed. 

All five family members were found guilty by the trial court in 2002 for murder and cruelty under Sections 302 and 498A of the Indian Penal Code. 

The case stemmed from the death of Kamlesh, who suffered nearly 100 per cent burn injuries at her matrimonial home in Samaypur Badli on October 30, 1988. She died later that day.

The prosecution alleged that she was set on fire by her in-laws after being subjected to dowry harassment. The prosecution relied primarily on statements the victim made to the executive magistrate and a relative.

However, the High Court found significant inconsistencies between the deceased's statements. The court noted that the first medical record stated she had sustained burns while cooking. In a later statement before the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), she accused her in-laws of setting her ablaze. 

It also noted that the victim's parents did not support allegations of dowry harassment, instead stating that their daughter had not complained about her in-laws and that no dowry demands had been made.

Therefore, the Court allowed the appeals filed by the family members and acquitted them of all charges. 

Advocates Naveen Yadav and Thakur Sumit appeared for the family members. 

State was represented through Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Aman Usman and advocates Manvendra Yadav and Atiq Ur Rehman. 

[Read Judgment]