REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO 891 OF 2001
Milind Bhagwanrao Godse .. Appellant
Versus
State of Maharashtra & Another .. Respondents
JUDGMENT
Dalveer Bhandari, J.
1. This appeal is directed against the judgment of the High
Court of Judicature of Bombay, Bench at Aurangabad in
Criminal Appeal No. 187 of 1991 dated 09.03.2001. The
appellant (original accused no. 1) and his parents (original
accused nos. 2 and 3) were alleged to have committed offences
punishable under sections 498A, 306 and 109 read with
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section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (for short `IPC’). The
learned IInd Additional Sessions Judge, Beed convicted the
appellant under section 498A IPC to suffer rigorous
imprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of Rs.2,500/-, in
default whereof to suffer further rigorous imprisonment for six
months. The appellant was also convicted under section 306
IPC to suffer rigorous imprisonment for three years and to pay
a fine of Rs.5,000/-, in default whereof to suffer further
rigorous imprisonment for six months. Original accused nos.
2 and 3 were, however, acquitted by the learned IInd
Additional Sessions Judge, Beed.
2. Brief facts which are necessary to dispose of the appeal
are recapitulated as under:
The appellant was married to the deceased Lata on
9.11.1987. The deceased was a highly qualified woman. She
had obtained distinction in Masters of Science (M.Sc.). She
secured second position in the Marathwada University in the
Diploma in Business Management. She had also passed
Diploma in Higher Education. She was doing Bachelor of
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Education (B.Ed.) at the time of commission of the offence.
She was serving as a Lecturer in Balbhim College at Beed.
3. The deceased Lata after marriage resided with the
appellant. The appellant was living in a joint family with his
parents. It was not a happy marriage from its very inception.
There was constant taunting leading to mental cruelty to the
deceased by the appellant and his parents.
4. The deceased visited her parents at Pandharpur in
January 1988. She disclosed to her parents that she was
constantly subjected to humiliation. The deceased again
visited her parents in May 1988. She again disclosed to her
parents that the appellant and his parents used to subject her
to extreme mental cruelty and torture. She complained that
the appellant asked her not to spend her salary, otherwise he
would divorce her.
5. She also disclosed to her parents that the appellant used
to tell her that a number of beautiful girls were after him. She
also complained that the appellant and her father-in-law used
to demand the salary from her and on refusal, both of them
used to frequently ask her to leave the house. She further
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told her parents that her mother-in-law dispensed with the
services of maid servants and compelled her to do all that
domestic work.
6. She again visited at Pandharpur on third occasion for the
purpose of delivery in July 1988. She was there from July
1988 to October 1988. She delivered a baby boy. The
appellant and the deceased took a residential quarter on rent
and stayed there for three weeks. However, they vacated the
rental premises and started residing separately on the first
floor of the ancestral house. The deceased was brought back
to the ancestral house against her wishes.
7. It is an admitted position that the appellant was a junior
lawyer and not settled in practice. He used to constantly
demand money from the deceased. The appellant used to give
her threats of divorcing her even in case of slight delay in
withdrawing money from the bank to be given to the
appellant. According to the statements of Vidhya P.W.7 and
Vasant P.W.8, sister and father of the deceased respectively,
and Exh. 46, it is abundantly clear that the appellant
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constantly used to give threats of divorce. This led to extreme
mental torture to the deceased.
8. There was a family function Jawal ceremony (first head-
shaving ceremony of child) in August 1989 at the house of the
appellant. All guests including the parents and sisters of the
deceased were invited for the ceremony. The parents and
sisters of the deceased noticed ill treatment meted out by the
appellant to the deceased on account of shortage of vegetable.
The appellant had humiliated and insulted the deceased in
presence of all guests and announced that he would take
decision to divorce her in that very month.
9. On 9.10.1989 at about 6:15 p.m., Vasant P.W.8, father of
the deceased, received a telegram to the effect “Lata burnt
seriously. Do not come with Rohit for his insecurity”. The
telegram was signed by one Dodsay. In response to the
telegram, the parents of the deceased rushed to Beed. They
reached Beed at 2.15 a.m. on 10.10.1989. They saw the
completely burnt dead body of the deceased in the hospital.
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10. The deceased, because of constant mental torture caused
by the appellant, decided to put an end to her life. On
9.10.1989 at about 2.30 p.m. at Dhondipura, Beed, the
deceased committed suicide by setting herself on fire.
11. One unknown boy informed Vidhya P.W.7 that the
deceased had visited the post office at 1 p.m. on 9.10.1989.
Vidhya P.W.7 went to the post office and made enquiry. It was
found that the deceased herself had sent telegrams Exhs. 35
to 37 to her father Vasant P.W.8, to her sister Vidhya P.W.7
and to her parental uncle at Kolhapur. Vasant P.W.8 went to
the police station and lodged the first information report Exh.
50 on 10.10.1989 at 4.00 p.m. On the basis of the first
information report, Crime No. 313 of 1989 was registered
under sections 498A and 306 read with section 34 of the
Indian Penal Code.
12. The Investigating Officer prepared inquest panchnamma
Exh. 16 of the dead body of the deceased on 10.10.1989. He
prepared spot panchnamma Exh. 29. The deceased had
committed suicide in the kitchen. The Investigating Officer
sent the dead body for autopsy. The autopsy was performed
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on the dead body of the deceased on 10.10.1989. The
deceased had 100% burns. The charge sheet was submitted
against the appellant and his parents in the Court of Chief
Judicial Magistrate, Beed. The learned Chief Judicial
Magistrate, Beed committed the original accused to the
Sessions Court, Beed to stand their trial.
13. The prosecution examined 11 witnesses in order to prove
the guilt of the accused. Sushma P.W.6 is the next-door
neighbour. Vidhya P.W.7 and Vasant P.W.8 are the sister
and father of the deceased respectively.
14. The defence of the appellant is that the deceased was a
highly educated woman. She was over ambitious. She wanted
all the luxuries of life. However, the appellant was a junior
lawyer and not settled in the practice of law. His income was
too meager to fulfill the dreams of the deceased. The appellant
admitted that he was demanding money from the deceased for
the purpose of their maintenance and not for bad vices. As
per the appellant, the deceased was frustrated in life because
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her dreams were not fulfilled and ultimately she had
committed suicide.
15. In the instant case, the first information report was
lodged by Vasant P.W.8 which fully stands corroborated to the
prosecution case. In his statement, he stated that the
appellant was constantly demanding money from the deceased
and he also prohibited the deceased from spending money
even from her salary and used to threaten her to divorce her.
Vasant P.W.8 further stated in his statement that the
appellant used to continuously demand money and in case of
delay in payment, he used to scold her. Vasant P.W.8 stated
that at the time of Jawal ceremony in 1989, the appellant
scolded the deceased because of shortage of vegetable and
food in the presence of everyone. Vasant P.W.8 also stated
about letter Exh.46 and identified the writing of the deceased.
16. Exh. 46 is a letter written by the deceased to her parents
on 9.10.1989, just before she had committed suicide. The
deceased wrote in the letter that she was an unlucky girl.
She thought that she would have some moments of
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happiness, but it was not possible because of the nature of
her husband (the appellant herein). She mentioned that on
the last day and night, the appellant had quarrelled with her
and in the morning the appellant cursed the father of the
deceased. She stated that the appellant had gone to the
extent of saying that since she was so proud of the influence
of her father, she should live with her father in matrimony and
also said many things of that sort. She specifically stated
that the appellant had harassed her so much that it would not
be possible for her to live with him any more. She further
stated in the letter that it is one thing of not earning money
and another to frequently dishonour and to give trouble to the
deceased and her son Rohit.
17. She stated in the letter that the appellant deliberately
twisted the leg of Rohit (his small son) and broke his bone.
She also stated in the letter that the appellant did so because
he had a brother Arvind who was physically handicapped and
he wanted Rohit to be like Arvind and also because the
deceased loved her son Rohit intensely. She stated in the
letter that the appellant had unusual attraction towards other
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girls, particularly towards deceased’s sister Asha, Sushma,
Sandhya, sister of Charuhas, wife of Anil Pangrikar. The
deceased wrote in the letter that the appellant, in order to
torture and mentally harass her, used to say that these girls
had good physical figures and looked beautiful. The deceased
also stated in the letter that the appellant used to say that
there would be a row of girls now for marriage with him.
These comments led to severe mental torture.
18. She requested her parents to take care of her minor son
Rohit and wanted that there should not be a shadow of the
appellant on Rohit.
19. This letter is indeed very emotional and was written in
extreme distressing mental condition. This letter clearly
demonstrates that the deceased was so much mentally
tortured by the appellant that she had decided to put an end
to her life.
20. The accused persons were tried for offences punishable
under sections 498A and 306 IPC. The learned IInd
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Additional Sessions Judge, Beed relied on the evidence of
Sushma P.W.6 (neighbour), Vidhya P.W.7 (sister) and Vasant
P.W.8 (father) of the deceased respectively. After careful
scrutiny of the entire evidence, the learned IInd Additional
Sessions Judge acquitted accused nos. 2 and 3, but convicted
accused no. 1 under section 498A IPC and sentenced him to
suffer rigorous imprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of
Rs.2,500/-, in default of payment to fine to further undergo
rigorous imprisonment for six months. The appellant was also
convicted under section 306 IPC and was sentenced to three
years’ rigorous imprisonment and was also directed to pay a
fine of Rs.5,000/-, in default of which to further undergo
rigorous imprisonment for six months.
21. The appellant, aggrieved by the judgment of the learned
IInd Additional Sessions Judge, Beed, preferred an appeal
before the High Court of Bombay at Aurangabad Bench. The
High Court correctly analyzed the entire evidence on record
and came to a clear finding that the prosecution has
established the guilt of the appellant beyond reasonable
doubt. The appeal filed by the appellant was dismissed and
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the order of conviction and sentence passed by the Learned
IInd Additional Sessions Judge, Beed was confirmed. The
appellant, aggrieved by the judgment of the High Court,
preferred this appeal.
22. The concurrent findings were found against the
appellant, however, in the interest of justice, we again
carefully examined the entire evidence and documents on
record. The evidence of Sushma P.W.6 (neighbour of the
deceased), Vidhya P.W.7 (sister of the deceased) and Vasant
P.W.8 (father of the deceased) clearly lead to the only
conclusion that this was a case of extreme mental cruelty
which was perpetuated from the point of marriage and lasted
till the deceased had committed suicide. There cannot be any
iota of doubt that the extreme mental cruelty and torture
compelled the deceased to put an end to her life. The
appellant was wholly responsible for creating all the
circumstances which led the deceased to take an extreme step
of putting an end to her life.
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23. Exh. 46, the letter written by the deceased to her parents
on 9.10.1989 immediately before she had committed suicide,
gives graphic description of the number of instances of
extreme mental torture, day in and day out. This letter gives
the impression that the appellant was deriving sadistic
pleasure in causing extreme mental torture to the deceased.
He would leave no stone unturned to ensure that the
maximum mental torture and agony is caused to the
deceased. We do not find the slightest doubt that the
circumstances which have been enumerated in Exh. 46 and
the testimony of P.Ws. 6, 7 and 8 lead to a situation where the
deceased virtually was left with no option except to take an
extreme step of putting an end to her life.
24. In our considered view, the learned IInd Additional
Sessions Judge and the learned Judge of the High Court
correctly evaluated the entire evidence on record and arrived
at correct conclusion. No interference is called for. The
appeal being devoid of any merit is accordingly dismissed.
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25. Consequently, the bail bond of the appellant are
cancelled. The appellant is directed to surrender forthwith to
serve out the remaining sentence.
………………………….J.
(Dalveer Bhandari)
………………………….J.
(Harjit Singh Bedi)
New Delhi,
February 12, 2009.