Material admissions rendered the victim’s testimony insufficient to sustain conviction under Section 506-B IPC.

The complainant alleged that the appellant had threatened to kill her if she disclosed her pregnancy to anyone

She later married another person, gave birth to a child, and lodged the FIR after the appellant refused to keep her and the child

The trial court acquitted the appellant of the charges under Sections 450 and 376(1) IPC but convicted him under Section 506-B IPC

He appealed against that conviction

Whether the conviction and sentence under Section 506-B IPC were sustainable on the evidence on record?

The Court considered the offence charged under Section 506-B of the Indian Penal Code

It applied the evidentiary principle that a conviction must rest on evidence sufficiently safe and reliable to sustain it; the Court identified no statutory test or precedent beyond its assessment of the complainant’s testimony

The complainant testified that the appellant had threatened to kill her if she disclosed her pregnancy

In cross-examination, however, she admitted that she had not disclosed the pregnancy or the alleged incident to anyone, including at the time of her marriage, and that she reported the matter only after the appellant refused to keep her and the child

Considering these admissions, the Court held that her evidence did not provide a safe and reliable basis for conviction under Section 506-B IPC