Thane, Jul 26 A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has acquitted four members of a family accused of harassing a woman for dowry and abetting her suicide in 2020, observing that the prosecution failed to present evidence to prove the allegations, after witnesses turned hostile during the trial.
Sessions judge R D Sawant on Friday acquitted the victim's husband, Deepak Vijaybahadur Yadav (40), father-in-law Vijaybahadur Yadav (66), mother-in-law Isravati (66), and sister-in-law Neelam (36), who were booked under sections 498-A (cruelty), 306 (abetment of suicide), and 304-B (dowry death) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act.
According to the prosecution, the victim, Kalpana Yadav, married Deepak on July 8, 2016, and lived with his family at Patilwadi in Thane.
The police alleged that after the initial days of marriage, the in-laws began harassing the victim and demanded Rs 2 lakh to purchase a flat, ultimately driving her to commit suicide by hanging.
However, during the trial, key prosecution witnesses, including the deceased woman's father, turned hostile.
In his testimony, the father stated that there was a settlement between him and the accused and he did not wish to proceed further with the case.
"The prosecution has not brought on record the substantive evidence which will go to show that the accused committed the offence charged against them. No doubt, the death of Kalpana was caused within 7 years of the marriage. However, section 113-B of the Evidence Act can not be invoked here in the absence of the evidence of dowry, as alleged," the court noted.
Concluding that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, the court acquitted all four accused.
