Dowry cruelty can link to a woman’s death: Calcutta High Court in 2004 case

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court has ruled that dowry-related cruelty spread over a short marriage can establish a link to a woman’s death even if no act of harassment occurred immediately before it.

Justice Rai Chattopadhyay observed while upholding a husband’s conviction for cruelty under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code, but setting aside the trial court’s finding on the dowry-death charge under Section 304B.

The court directed the trial court to rehear that charge, observing that it had taken an “unduly narrow and mechanical” view of the phrase “soon before her death” by confining it to incidents that happened immediately before the woman’s death.

The case involved a woman who died by suicide on December 8, 2004, barely six months after her marriage on June 24, the same year. The prosecution said she was repeatedly harassed for dowry, taunted about the parentage of her unborn child, and involved in frequent quarrels. Witnesses, including neighbours and relatives, said she was often seen crying and had once returned to her parental home after mistreatment, but later went back to her husband shortly before her death.

The trial court had convicted the husband for cruelty but acquitted him of dowry death, reasoning that there was no evidence of harassment immediately before the suicide. The High Court disagreed, holding that such a literal interpretation ignored the continuing nature of abuse.

“The expression ‘soon before her death’ must be interpreted in a factual and flexible manner,” Justice Chattopadhyay said. “A chain of dowry-related cruelty within a short marital span can together form the proximate cause of death.”

While maintaining the conviction and sentence for cruelty, the court set aside the finding on dowry death and sent the matter back to the trial court for fresh examination.

It directed that the process be completed within six months, allowing both sides to produce additional evidence if required.

The convict, who failed to appear despite notice, was ordered into custody to serve his confirmed sentence. The court also directed that a certified copy of the judgment be supplied to him free-of-cost.