In Brief
A woman was convicted under Section 498-A IPC (dowry harassment) and sentenced to three years imprisonment after her daughter-in-law's death by alleged suicide. The High Court upheld the conviction based on hearsay accounts from the deceased's parents. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and acquitted the mother-in-law, holding that conviction cannot rest on uncorroborated statements from interested witnesses. An independent, disinterested neighbor testified that no dowry demand was ever made. The Court stressed that in dowry cases, such facts spread widely and are not confined to four walls. The original complaint made no mention of dowry demand, and medical evidence indicated strangulation, not suicide by hanging. The conviction lacked the necessary credible, specific evidence required under Section 498-A.
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