Supreme Court of India Judgements

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Category: Dowry Death

Dowry Death

Trial court, committed a patent error in discarding the dying declaration and the other material evidence, discussed hereinabove. Therefore, the interference by the High Court in the appeal against the acquittal of the appellant and recording the finding of his conviction for the offence under Section 302 of the IPC, on consideration of the evidence, is justified.

Apr 14, 2019 sclaw

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA DIVISION BENCH VIJAY MOHAN SINGH — Appellant Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA — Respondent ( Before : L. Nageswara Rao and M.R. Shah, JJ. ) Criminal Appeal…

Dowry Death

Dowry Death–Soon before death–Words “Soon before her death” occurring in section 304-B of Penal Code, are to be understood in relative and flexible sense–Those words cannot be construed as lying down a rigid period of time to be mechanically applied in each case–Whether or not the cruelty or harassment meted out to the victim for or in connection with the demand of dowry was soon before her death and the proximate cause of her death, under abnormal circumstances, would depend upon the facts of each case–There can be no fixed period of time in this regard–Penal Code, 1860, Section 304-B.  

Dec 31, 2018 sclaw

2009(1) LAW HERALD (SC) 88 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Aftab Alam Criminal Appeal No.67 of 2006…

Dowry Death

Dowry death–No evidence on record to show that the cruelty or harassment was meted out to her for brining insufficient dowry–Ingredient of section 304-B cannot be said to have been proved. Dowry–Meaning of–Giving or agreeing to give any property or valuable security in connection with marriage of the parties–Customary payment in connection with birth of a child and other ceremonies are not covered.

Dec 26, 2018 sclaw

2009(1) LAW HERALD (SC) 19 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before The Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.B. Sinha The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Cyriac Joseph Criminal Appeal No. 476 of 2005…

Dowry Death

Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, S. 4–Penal Code, 1860, S. 498-A and 304-B–Evidence Act, 1872, S. 113-B–Dowry Death–Cruelty–Demand of Dowry–Essential ingredients :- (i) Death is caused in unnatural circumstances. (ii) Death must have occurred within seven years of the marriage of the deceased. (iii) It needs to be shown that soon before her death, the deceased was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry.

Dec 11, 2018 sclaw

2010(1) LAW HERALD (SC)  681 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before The Hon’ble Mr. Justice P. Sathasivam The Hon’ble Mr. Justice H.L. Dattu Criminal Appeal No. 160 Of 2006…

Dowry Death

Indian Penal Code, 1860, S.304-B~Dowry Death-Soon before Death- What must be borne in mind is that the word “soon” does not mean “immediate”–A fair and pragmatic construction keeping in mind the great social evil that has led to the enactment of Section 304-B IPC would make it clear that the expression is a relative expression—Time-lags may differ from case to case—All that is necessary is that the demand for dowry should not be stale but should be the continuing cause for the death of the married woman under Section 304-B. 

Dec 7, 2018 sclaw

2018(4) Law Herald (SC) 2735 : 2018 LawHerald.Org 1607 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ranjan Gogoi Hon’ble Mr. Justice Navin Sinha Hon’ble Mr. Justice K.M.…

Dowry Death

Burden of proof–Murder committed in secrecy inside a house–The inmates of the house cannot get away by simply keeping quiet and offering no explanation on the supposed premise that the burden to establish its case lies entirely upon the prosecution and there is no duty at all on an accused to offer any explanation. Burden of proof–Where the prosecution has succeeded in proving facts from which a reasonable inference can be drawn regarding death. The accused by virtue of their special knowledge must offer an explanation which might lead the court to draw a different inference.

Nov 5, 2017 sclaw

2008(1) Law herald (sc) 234 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before The Hon’ble Mr. Justice G.P. Mathur The Hon’ble Mr. Justice G.S. Singhvi Criminal Appeal No. 1133 of 2000…

Dowry Death

Dowry Death–A pregnant woman ordinarily would not commit suicide unless relationship with her husband comes to such a pass that she would be compelled to do so. Proof of document–A document in terms of Section 65 of Act is to be proved by a person who is acquainted with handwriting of author thereof. Dowry Death–Offence under Section 304B is not compoundable and only because marriage of accused had taken place, same by itself cannot be a ground for rejecting the prosecution story.

Oct 30, 2017 sclaw

 2008(1) LAW HERALD (SC) 117 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before The Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.B. Sinha The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Harjit Singh Bedi Criminal Appeal No. 1021 of…

Dowry Death

Dowry Death—Dowry demand—Defence version that since the accused possessed scooter as well as motorcycle, there was no necessity to make demand of scooter ; is totally irrelevant. Remarks by Judge—If that part of the evidence is not consistent with the facts on record, the Court may not accept it. But only for that reason, the Court should not make disparaging remarks.

Jul 12, 2017 sclaw

  2007(4) LAW HERALD (SC) 3380 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA Before The Hon’ble Mr. Jusitce C.K. Thakker The Hon’ble Mr. Jusitce P. Sathasivam Criminal Appeal No. 1612 of…

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Cr P C

Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 — Sections 209, 244 — Commitment of case exclusively triable by Court of Session — Whether Magistrate is required to record prosecution evidence under Section 244 CrPC before committing such a case, where the complaint is one instituted otherwise than on a police report — Held, no — Section 244 CrPC, which mandates the Magistrate to hear the prosecution and take evidence, occurs in Chapter XIX (Part B — “Cases instituted otherwise than on a police report”) and governs warrant-case trials before a Magistrate; it has no application where the offence (here, under Section 302 IPC) is exclusively triable by the Court of Session, which is governed instead by Section 209 CrPC — Under the scheme of the 1973 Code (unlike the erstwhile 1898 Code, which mandated a full committal inquiry with recording of evidence under Section 207-A), the Magistrate’s role at the pre-commitment stage is confined to ascertaining whether the offence is exclusively triable by the Sessions Court, and no evidence need be taken or evaluated by the Magistrate at that stage — Requiring witnesses to depose twice, once before the Magistrate and again before the Sessions Court, would serve no purpose and is not the mandate of law — High Court’s contrary view, requiring compliance with Section 244 CrPC even in a Sessions-triable case, proceeds on an erroneous reading of law and is unsustainable.

Jul 5, 2026 sclaw
Accident

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Sections166, 168 — Compensation — Assessment of annual income of a self-employed deceased (wholesale grocery business) — Two ITRs filed after the death of the deceased excluded by the High Court altogether from the assessment of income — Held, following the principles in Rashmirekha Tripathy and Anr. v. The Branch Manager (Legal Claims), Sriram General Insurance Company Limited and Ors. [C.A. @ SLP(C) No.27220 of 2024, 2026 INSC 661], ITRs filed post-death call for closer scrutiny with reference to surrounding financial statements, since income may be inflated in such returns, but such returns are not to be excluded outright merely for being filed post-death — In the absence of the benefit of such surrounding financial statements on record, and it being inexpedient at this stage to remand the matter, annual income fixed with reference to the nature of the deceased’s wholesale grocery business at Rs.3,25,000 — Compensation recomputed applying 40% addition for future prospects (age 28 years), 1/4th deduction for personal expenses, and a multiplier of 17, together with conventional heads (loss of estate, funeral expenses, consortium) — Total compensation enhanced to Rs.60,79,550 (as against Rs.15,36,560 awarded by the Tribunal and Rs.38,40,850 awarded by the High Court), with interest as awarded by the Tribunal — Appeal allowed.

Jul 5, 2026 sclaw
Accident

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Sections 166, 168 — Compensation — Assessment of annual income of a self-employed deceased (Insurance Agent) from Income Tax Returns — High Court had averaged the last four ITRs on record — Held, erroneous — Following the principles laid down in Rashmirekha Tripathy and Anr. v. The Branch Manager (Legal Claims), Sriram General Insurance Company Limited and Ors. [C.A. @ SLP(C) No.27220 of 2024, 2026 INSC 661], for a self-employed person the average of up to the previous three years’ ITRs, not four, is the appropriate reference point — A performance-linked spike in the income of an Insurance Agent in a particular year does not justify reaching back to an additional, earlier ITR to dilute that spike — On the facts, taking the average of the income for AY 2015-16 (Rs.4,03,180), AY 2016-17 (Rs.9,59,665) and AY 2017-18 (Rs.7,00,559), annual income assessed at Rs.6,87,802 — Compensation recomputed applying 25% addition for future prospects (age 49 years), 1/4th deduction for personal expenses, and a multiplier of 13, together with conventional heads (loss of estate, funeral expenses, consortium) — Total compensation enhanced to Rs.87,09,282 (as against Rs.49,77,000 awarded by the Tribunal and Rs.76,09,500 awarded by the High Court), with interest as awarded by the Tribunal — Appeal allowed.

Jul 5, 2026 sclaw
Accident

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 — Sections 166, 168 — Compensation — Assessment of annual income of deceased/claimant on the basis of Income Tax Returns — Whether the ITR of the previous year alone, or the average of the previous two/three years, is to be taken — Held, no hard and fast formula governs computation of annual income; ITRs, being statutory documents, are an important reference point, but a bifurcation must be made between salaried and self-employed individuals — (i) For salaried individuals, the ITR of the previous year alone ordinarily suffices, since the financial impact of a promotion or salary revision is best reflected in that year’s return; where the deceased had not completed a year in a promoted position, or had not filed a return for that period, the Court may rely on the promotion letter and other corroborative financial statements; (ii) For self-employed persons/those running their own business, the average of the ITRs for up to the previous three years is to be taken as the reference point, having regard to the inherent income fluctuation in such professions — In assessing self-employed income, the surrounding circumstances to be additionally considered include: (a) the nature of the business (including geography and category); (b) its growth pattern and the impact of the death on the business; (c) its potential/future growth, including capital-intensive businesses profitable only at scale; (d) the possibility of negative income in initial years not reflecting the true financial standing; and (e) any other relevant factor — The date of filing of an ITR is also relevant, since income may be inflated after the death/injury; such returns call for closer scrutiny against surrounding financial statements, though they are not to be excluded outright merely for being filed post-death, if adequately supported.

Jul 5, 2026 sclaw