Newlywed Dies Of Burns Amid ₹50,000 Dowry Demand: Jharkhand HC Upholds In-Laws’ 14-Year Dowry-Death Sentences

Janki Devi married Dulu Pradhan on 1 May 2009 and died from burn injuries at her matrimonial home on 18 November 2009.

Her father, the informant, alleged that her in-laws demanded ₹50,000 as dowry and that she was harassed when the demand was not met.

The trial court convicted the accused under Section 304B read with Section 34 IPC and sentenced them to 14 years’ rigorous imprisonment.

In the appeals, two appellants had died and their appeals were recorded as abated; the appeals of the surviving appellants proceeded for decision.

Section 304B IPC applies where a woman dies from burns, bodily injury, or otherwise than under normal circumstances within seven years of marriage, and is shown to have been subjected soon before death to cruelty or harassment by her husband or his relative in connection with a dowry demand.

Once these foundational facts are established, Section 113B of the Evidence Act requires the court to presume that the accused caused the dowry death; the presumption is rebuttable.

The Court also relied on State of Rajasthan v. Jaggu Ram, (2008) 12 SCC 51, for the principle that the Section 113B presumption must be raised once the prosecution proves its essential ingredients.

The Court found that the post-mortem evidence established death by burns and that the death occurred at the matrimonial home within seven years of marriage.

It accepted the evidence of the deceased’s father and brother that the in-laws demanded ₹50,000 and that the deceased had disclosed the demand and related mistreatment to them; the Court considered this evidence sufficient to establish dowry-related cruelty or harassment soon before death.

It therefore applied the Section 113B presumption and found it unrebutted, noting that the defence had not adduced evidence or elicited material in cross-examination to displace it.

The appeals of the surviving appellants were dismissed, and they were directed to surrender within two months to serve the remaining sentence; the appeals of the appellants who had died stood abated.