In Brief
A woman died by burning within 18 months of marriage. The prosecution alleged the husband and father-in-law subjected her to cruelty for dowry demands (TV and VCR), causing her suicide. The trial court acquitted them. The High Court reversed, finding dowry death under Section 304B IPC. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and reinstated the acquittal. The Court held that before invoking the presumption under Section 113B of The Evidence Act, reliable evidence must first establish cruelty or harassment connected to dowry demand. Contradictions between witnesses' oral testimony and their prior statements to police, the absence of dowry complaints in letters written during marriage, and evidence of spiritual belief (not dowry distress) rendered the High Court's conviction unreliable.
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