V APHC010150992009 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI a WEDNESDAY, THE EIGHTEENTH DAY OF JUNE TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K SREENIVASA REDDY CRIMINAL APPEAL NO: 949 OF 2009 Appeal under Section 374(2) of Cr.P.C., aggrieved by the Judgment dt.05.08.2009 made in SC.No. 99/2008 by the Additional Sessions Judge, Hindupur. Between: Thota Anjineyulu, S/o. T.Narsimhappa, aged about Agriculture, Mavaturu Village, Penukonda Mandal, Ananthapur District. ...Appellant/Accused No.1 25 years. AND State of A.P., rep.by Public Prosecutor, High Court of A.P., Amaravathi. ...Respondent Counsel for the Petitioner: SRI N RANGA REDDY Counsel for the Respondent: PUBLIC PROSECUTOR (AP) The Court made the following Judgment: 1 APHC010150992009 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI (Special Original Jurisdiction) WEDNESDAY, THE EIGHTEENTH DAY OF JUNE TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY FIVE [3327] PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE K SREENIVASA REDDY CRIMINAL APPEAL N0.949 OF 2009 Between: Thota Anjineyulu ...APPELLANT AND State of AP., rep. by its Public Prosecutor. ...RESPONDENT Counsel for the Appellant: 1.N. RANGA REDDY Counsel for the Respondent: 1. PUBLIC PROSECUTOR (AP) The Court made the following JUDGMENT: Accused No.1 in Sessions Case No.99 of 2008 on the file of the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Hindupur is the appellant in the present Criminal Appeal. 2. The appellant/Accused No.1, along with accused Nos.2 and 3, was tried by the learned Additional Sessions Judge for *. "o 2 the offences punishable under Sections IPC. 3. Substance of the charges being the husband 498-A, 306 read with 34 against A1 to A3 is that they father-in-law and mother-in-law, the deceased to bring mental agony within marriage with At and, unable to bear the respectively, of the deceased harassed money and subjected her to cruelty and seven years of her said harassment, absence of inmates, the deceased kerosene on her on 25.08.2003, at about 04.00 pm, in the committed suicide by pouring person and lit fire, thereby the committed the offences punishable under accused Sections 498-A and 304-B IPC. 4. After completion of trial Judge convicted accused No.1 of the Section 498-A IPC and imprisonment for three (3) years and to learned Additional Sessions offence punishable under X sentenced him to suffer rigorous pay fine of Rs.500/- (Rupees five hundred only), in default to suffer simple imprisonment for one month. However, accused Nos.1 to 3 304-B IPC and were acquitted of the offence under were acquitted of the offence under Section a.pcused Nos.2 and 3 Section 498-A IPC. 3 5. Case of the prosecution, briefly, is as follows. i) PWs.1 and 2 are the parents of the deceased M.Nagamani. The deceased was given in marriage to A1 about five years prior to the incident. A2 and A3 are the parentsof A1. At the time of marriage, the parents of the deceased gave gold ring to A1 and one pair of ear studs with jumkis to the deceased as dowry. Both A1 and the deceased lived happily for about two years. Subsequently, A1 was addicted to vices like drinking and gambling and used to sell household articles and started harassing the deceased to get money from her parents. A2 and A3, parents of A1, also harassed the deceased for no fault of her. It is alleged that unable to bear the harassment being meted out to her by the accused, on 25.09.2003, at about 04.00 'X PM, in the absence of inmates, the deceased poured kerosene on her person and lit fire and came out of the house with flames by crying. PW.7, one Balija Chandrasekhar Reddy and A1 to A3 came there and put off the flames and shifted her to the Governmejit Hospital, Penukonda. The deceased died while undergoing treatment. Based on the Ex.P1 complaint given by • PW.1, police registered a case in Crime No. 124 of 2003 of Penukonda Police Station, for the offences under Sections 498- 4 A and 306 read with 34 IPC all concerned. He conducted the witnesses. and issued copies of FIR - Ex.PS to entire investigation and examined ii) PW.9 - the Mandal Executive Magistrate, held inquest over the dead body PW.10 Penukonda of the deceased under Ex.P3. the Civil Assistant Surgeon, Community Hospital, Penukonda, who conducted autopsy over the dead body of the certificate - Ex.P4 opining that the deceased issued post-mortem deceased would have died due to severe burn injuries. - the Si of Police, Penukonda iii) PVV. 11 verified the investigation done and filed charge sheet against the accused. 6. The learned Judicial Magistrate of First took cognizance of the X committed the the same was numbered Class, Penukonda case as PRC No. 11 of 2008 and case to the Court of Session, Anantapur and later as SC No.99 of 2008 and made the case to the Court of the learned Additional over Sessions Judge, Hindupur, for disposal. 7. On appearance of 4.98-A and 304B IPC were framed, read accused, charges under Sections over the contents of the 5 charge and explained to them in Telugu, for which they pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried. 8. In support of its case, the prosecution examined PWs.1 to 11 and got marked Exs.P1 to P6. 9. When the accused were examined under Section 313 Cr.P.C., they denied the incriminating material appearing against them and reported no defence evidence 10. The learned Additional Sessions Judge, on appreciation of entire oral and documentary evidence on record, convicted and sentenced accused No.1 as aforesaid, vide impugned judgment dated 05.08.2009. Aggrieved by the said judgment, the present Criminal Appeal has been preferred by accused No.1. X 11. Heard. Perused the entire evidence on record. 12. There is no dispute that the deceased died within seven years of her marriage with A1. Coming to the evidence of PWs.1 and 2, the parents of the deceased, they deposed that the marriage of their daughter was performed with A1 five years prior to her death. At the time of marriage, they gave gold ring to A1 and one pair of ear studs with jumkis to the deceased as 6 dowry. After the lived happily for differences between the deceased to beat their daughter, regard. They stated that A1 addicted marriage, their daughter joined with A1 and some time. From the beginning, there and A1. The accused were used A panchayat was also held in that ' to vices such as drinking their daughter for want of accused poured kerosene and gambling, and started harassing more dowry. Subsequently, the the deceased and lit fire on resulting her death. PWs.3 to 5 corroborated the version of PWs.1 and 2. 13. A perusal of Ex.PI where stated that the deceased harassment for want of harassment death. PWs.1 to accused poured kerosene fire resulting her death, whereas the complaint goes to show that it iIS no was subjected to cruelty and more dowry and her death was dowry 5 gave improved version that the on the person of the deceased and case of the prosecution is being meted out to her X lit that having vexed with the harassment by A1, the deceased committed suicide. There is no evidence the death of the deceased whatsoever on record to hold that was dowry harassment death. In the instant case, the evidence ot prosecution witnesses clearly goes to show that the deceased was subjected to ill-treatment and harassment by A1 because of 7 his illegal acts, as such the prosecution failed to made out a case against the accused for the offence under Section 304-B IPC. Coming to the charge under Section 498-A IPC, a perusal of the evidence on record goes to show that A1, being the husband of the deceased, used to quarrel regularly with her till her death. It can be said that the acts of A1 amount to cruelty and harassment towards his wife within the meaning of Section 498-A IPC. The evidence of PWs.1 to 5 clearly discloses that A1, being the husband, tortured the deceased. The evidence of 14. PWs.1 to 5 is consistent and reliable to the extent that the deceased was subjected to cruelty and harassment by A1. Therefore, she died hardly within five (5) years of her marriage As stated supra, there is no evidence regarding demand of dowry nor the deceased complained to her parents that she had been assaulted for dowry. with A1. 15. The learned Additional Sessions Judge, on appreciation of the entire oral and documentary evidence on record in a right perspective, found the appellant herein/accused No.1 guilty of the offence under Section 498-A IPC and accordingly convicted \ 8 # him as aforesaid and I see no reasons to interfere with the well reasoned judgment passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge as regards conviction. 16. As regards sentenced, it is a case of the year 2008 and considering the submissions of the lecirned sppellant/accused No.1, the sentence of i counsel for the imprisonment of three years passed against the appellant herein/accused reduced to the period of No.1 is year, while maintaining the fine one amount and default sentence. The appellant/accused No.1 i directed to surrender before the jurisdictional period of one month from the date of IS Court within a receipt of a copy of this judgment to serve the remaining period of sentence, if any. If he fails to surrender within the stipulated period, the jurisdictional Court is at liberty to take appropriate steps m that regard. With the above modification in sentence, the Criminal Appeal is dismissed. 17. ^ As a sequel thereto, the miscellaneous petitions, if any, pending in this Criminal Appeal shall stand closed. Sd/- E KAMESWARA RAO JOINT REGISTRAR //TRUE COPY// 'section officer To, 1. The Additional Sessions Judge, Hindupur, Ananthapur District. 2. The Station House Officer, Penukonda Police Station, Ananthapur District. 3. One CC to Sri N Ranga Reddy Advocate [OPUC] 4. Two CC's to the Public Prosecutor, High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravati [OUT] 5. The Section Officer, Criminal Section, High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Amaravati. 6. Three CD Copies SAM vna / f ■s HIGH COURT DATED; 18/06/2025 JUDGMENT CRLA 949/2009 X dismissing the CRLA ■X