A pregnant woman committed sucide on her birthday in dispute over the purchase of new car as her birthday gift. The Marriage was intercste one. Her parents immediately on the arraival insisted that deceased`s body should not be tampered and they insisted on the return of money spent on marriage and sridahan article. They were forth delivered all this aricle. The parents of the deceased also delived a written acknowledgement that they have received back all the money and stridhan articles at once. no more is required to be returned to them. The body was cremated with full digninty in the presence of the father of the deceaed. But no complaint was given to the police and no post mortem was caused. After passing of few days the father of the deceased lodged a complaint before police admitting that there was no demand of dowry but cruelty by insisting on athesist practises like opposition to flower sporting in head etc. The sister of the deceasd alone alleged s*xual cruelty by the husband on her deceased sister. The IO found that it was clear case of sucide hence he sought charge under Section 176 of IPC. At that juncture the parents of the deceased obtained a direction for the change of the Investigating agency . The appalling apspect is that the High court in its order under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code observed that presumption under provisions of Section 114-A of the Indian Evidence Act is enacted for the benefit of deprived woman hence the same is applicable here as there was reports in media as to the extra marital affair of the husban. There was no itota of utterence by the parents of the deceased about this charge of extra marital affiair in an enquiry and statments and complaints during the time of investigation. It was new allegation made only in a petition under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C. The new investigating officer also came to same finding and he filed a report charging the accused under Section 176 of the Criminal Procedure Code. My legal advice in that particular case was to contest and get relived of stigma. But the accused plead guilty and paid a fine to tune of Rs. 500 only.
My suggestion for the improvement of the system is to entertain change of agency only under Writ jurisdiction as it has LPA. The averments in complaint and statment under Section 161 shall also be looked by the High court before allowing those kind of petition and no observation regarding legal and factul presumptions shall be raised. because the same would usurp the power of trial court. necessary changes in the law may be introduced ot disregard those observations by the High court in order to avoid those anamoloy in matrimonial cases. There filters like approval of by the Director of public prosecution shall be made very effective to avoid this kind of abuse of law , The erroneous legal office shall be taken to task for his omission and commission immediately. The criminal procedure code shall also be amended to fileter those frivolous cases to nipped in the bud by conferring revisional powers on the assistant sessions judge against the cogizance and continance of the trail
