Supreme Court: The Bench comprising of R. Banumathi and Vineet Saran, JJ., ordered for refusal of modification in quantum of sentence as sought for by the appellant; on the reasoning that the conviction of the appellant under Section 498-A and 306 IPC as given by the High Court is to be maintained and any leniency in the same would be a misplaced one.
The facts of the case clearly draw the picture towards mental agony leading to the act of suicide committed by the deceased. Appellant was convicted under Section 498-A and 306 IPC as the wife of the appellant had committed suicide due to being subjected to cruelty and alleged dowry demand along with one of the significant factors in all the allegations being an illicit relationship of the appellant with another woman.
After the conviction from Trial Court, the High Court had further convicted the appellant under Sections 498-A and 306 IPC on consideration of the facts and evidence which constituted that the appellant even after agreeing on not continuing his relationship with another woman continued to do so, which definitely caused mental agony to the deceased-wife. Reliance on Randhir Singh v. State of Punjab, (2004) 13 SCC 129 was placed in regard to “abetment involving a mental process of instigating a person or in any manner aiding that person in doing of the thing.”
Therefore, it was held that the High Court’s order of conviction is to be maintained as leniency in the same as appealed would be a misplaced one. Hence, the appeal was dismissed. [Siddaling v. State,2018 SCC OnLine SC 958, decided on 09-08-2018]
