Delhi court convicts husband, mother-in-law in dowry death case

A Delhi court has convicted a man and his mother in a dowry death case after his wife died by suicide within seven years of marriage, saying that the prosecution proved a continuous pattern of dowry-related harassment and demands made shortly before her death.

Additional Sessions Judge Harvinder Singh heard the case against Jitender and his mother Rambati, accused under charges of dowry death and cruelty by the husband or relatives.

In an order dated May 30, the court said, “The prosecution has also been able to establish that a few days prior to the date of death of the deceased, the accused side had been subjecting the deceased to torture/harassment/cruelty for more dowry of Rs 50,000 and gave beatings to her to bend the deceased and her family members to their demands of dowry”.

According to the prosecution, Pooja married Jitender on June 10, 2011, and died by hanging at her matrimonial home in East Gokalpur on August 21, 2016.

The woman’s family alleged that dowry demands began even before the marriage. During the tilak ceremony, Jitender allegedly expressed displeasure over being gifted a Bajaj Discover motorcycle and demanded a more expensive model, with the dispute being settled after a payment of Rs 10,000.

The prosecution alleged that Jitender later demanded an Apache motorcycle, following which Pooja’s father paid Rs 50,000, while Rambati sought Rs 1 lakh for her daughter’s marriage. The family also claimed that Pooja was harassed for giving birth to a girl child and was subjected to beatings and cruelty over more dowry.

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The court noted that Pooja had visited her parental home on Raksha Bandhan, just days before her death, and complained about continuous harassment and physical abuse by her husband and in-laws. She was sent back to her matrimonial home on August 19, 2016, and died two days later.

Rejecting the defence claim that Pooja was depressed because her sister’s proposed marriage had failed, the court said no evidence was produced to substantiate that claim.

“It has been established that the deceased was subjected to cruelty/harassment for and in connection with demand of dowry right from the beginning of her marriage till a few days prior to the date of her death,” the court observed.

The judge held that the prosecution had successfully proved all essential ingredients of the offence of dowry death, triggering the statutory presumption against the husband and mother-in-law.

The court found that Jitender and Rambati failed to rebut the presumption under law and were therefore liable for Pooja’s death.

Convicting Jitender and Rambati, the court said the evidence established that Pooja had been subjected to cruelty, beatings and harassment for dowry during her married life and that such treatment continued until her death.