Bombay high court relief for husbands in dowry deaths
SOURCE - https://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_bombay-high-court-relief-for-husbands-in-dowry-deaths_1516112
In a judgment of import, the Bombay high court has ruled that if a wife dies unnaturally within seven years ofmarriage,the husband cannot automatically be held guilty of dowry-death.
Justice JH Bhatia, while acquitting John Khandagale on March 1, noted: "To establish that it was a dowry death, it must be established that the death was connected with ill-treatment or harassment on account of or in connection with demand of money."
On January 7, 1988, John was arrested for the murder of his wife Urenica. The sessions court acquitted John of any murder charge due to lack of evidence.
However, he was convicted for offences under sections 304 (B) (dowry death) and sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment.
The judges noted that prosecution had failed to prove that John had, in fact, murdered Urenica, "It is possible that the accused might have quarreled and beaten his wife, but that does not mean that every quarrel or beating was related to the demand of money or dowry alone," wrote justice Bhatia in his order.
