In Brief
Devender Singh and two in-laws were convicted by the High Court for dowry death under Section 304B IPC after their acquittal by the trial court. The wife, Sushila, went missing from the matrimonial home six months after marriage and was found dead in a river. The mother of the deceased testified that Sushila complained of repeated dowry demands (Rs. 2,00,000 or house construction) and harassment by her husband and in-laws. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of the husband (appellant No. 1) but set aside convictions of the in-laws (appellants No. 2 and 3), finding they resided separately with separate ration cards, and no specific evidence attributed personal roles to them in the dowry demands or cruelty. The husband's conviction satisfied all ingredients of Section 304B IPC with unshaken witness testimony.
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