U'khand HC acquits man convicted by lower court in 1993 dowry death case
Nainital, The Uttarakhand High Court has acquitted a man who was convicted by a lower court 32 years old dowry death case.
In a judgement passed on Friday, the single bench of Justice Pankaj Purohit of the High Court absolved Ram Kumar Gupta of the charges levelled against him under the Dowry Prohibition Act citing serious illegalities and irregularities in his conviction by the trial court.
The trial court convicted the accused in the dowry death case of his wife on the basis of hearsay and photostat copies of alleged letters written by her, treating them as valid evidence, the court said.
Photocopies in the absence of originals have no legal validity, it said.
Gupta, a resident of Chamoli district, was booked under the dowry prohibition act after his wife's death in 1993.
In 2007, his trial was concluded and he was convicted by the Chamoli District Court for the dowry death of his wife. Gupta had been sentenced by the trial court to two and a half years of imprisonment in the case.
He challenged the lower court's verdict in the high court claiming that he had good relationship with his wife and had made no dowry demands. His brother also confirmed this in his testimony.
Gupta had informed his wife's family about her accidental death. She had succumbed to injuries after getting burnt accidentally while cooking. Her last rites were performed with her family's consent, Gupta said in his petition.
However, later her family levelled dowry harassment charges against him, even though the investigating officer confirmed that the case had been received after a delay of one and a half years.
It was argued on behalf of the petitioner that a delayed FIR in the case made the harassment complaint seem suspicious.
Further the deceased had made a dying declaration to the SDM, stating that she had burnt herself while cooking and her husband was not to blame for it.
After the hearing, the High Court set aside the Chamoli court's decision and acquitted Gupta of all charges under the Dowry Prohibition Act.
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