GURBACHAN SINGHversusSATPAL SINGH & ORS.

                     •       GURBACHAN SINGH
A
                                     v.
                            SATPAL SINGH & ORS.

                              SEPTE~BER 26,        1989

B            [SABYASACHI MUKHARJI AND B.C. RAY, JJ.]

          Criminal Trial-Criminal charge must . be brought home-
     Proved beyond all reasonable .doubt-abetment separate and· distinct
     offence-Letting guilty escape is '.not doing justice according to law.

          Raviitder Kaur, daughter· of Gurbachan Singh was married to
·C Satpal Singh in November, 196Z. She died on 25th June, 1983 at about
    2.30 P.M. It was alleged, she co~tted suicide because of the harass-
    ment, constant taunts and cruel behaviour of her in-laws towards her
    and persistent demand for dowry and insinnuations that she was carry-
    ing an illegitimate child. It is alleged, provoked by th.e aforesaid con-
 D duct and behaviour she committed suicide. The father-in-law, mother-
  . in-law a.nd the husband of the deceased have been the abetters of the
    crime and the deceased died of secondi~o third degree burns.

           The learned Additional Sessions Judge on the totality of evidence
     on record held that the accused were guilty of abetment to suicide and
 E · as such punishable under Section 306 of the I.P.C. On appeal by the
     accused the High Court was of the view that the guilt of the accused had
     not been proved and as such acquitted them.

           The complainant and father of the deceased aggrieved by the
      order of the Hi11:h Court preferred these appeals by way of special leave
 f   lfo appeal. This Court holding that the order of acquittal made by the
      High Court is not sustainable and affirming the conviction of the
      accused under section 306 of I.P.C. and the sentence imposed by the
      Additional Sessions Judge, Amritsar,

           HELD: (Per Sabyasachi Mukharji J.) Abetment is a separate and
,G distinct offence provided the thing abetted is an offence. Abetment does
     ·not involve the actual commission of the crime ·abetted; it is a crime
     '
      apart. [295G]

                 ' charges must be brought home and proved beyond all
          Criminal
     reasonable doubts. While civil case may be proved by mere preponde-
#    ranee of evidence, in criminal cases the prosecution must prove the
                                        292
                  GURBACHAN SINGH v. SATPAL SINGH                       293

 ch11rge beyond «asonable doubt. There must not be any'reasonable
 doubt' of the guilt of the accused in respect of the particular offence A
 charged. The courts musf strictly .be satisfied that no innocent person-
 innocent in the sense of not being guilty of the offence of which he is
 charged-is convicted, even at the risk of letting of some _guilty per-
 sons. Even after the introduction of S. 493A of the I.P.C. and S.
 113A of the Indian Evidence Act, the proof must be beyond any B
 shadow of reasonable doubt. There is a higher standard of proof
 in criminal cases than in civil cases, but there is no absolute stan-
 dard In either of the cases. [296C-F]

        The standard adopted must be the standard adopted by a prudent
. man which, of course, may vary from case to case, circumstances to
  circumstances. Exaggerated devotion to the rule of benefit of doubt          C
  must not nurture fanciful doubts of lingering suspicions and thereby
  destroy social defence. Justice cannot be made sterile on the plea that it
  is better to let hundred guilty escape than punish an innocent. Letting
  guilty escape is not doing justice, according to law. [296F]
        (Per B.C. Ray, J): Circumstantial avidence as well as the prosecu· D
  tion witnesses in the instant case clearly prove beyond doubt that the ac-
.·cused instigated and abetted Ravinder Kaur, deceased in the commis-
  sion of the offence by committing suicide by burning herself. [306G]
       The fmdiugs arrived at by the Trial Court after considering and
 weighing the entire evidences are unexceptional. The findings arrived at      E
 by the High Court without considering properly the circumstantial
 evidence as well as the evidences of the prosecution witnesses cannot be
 sustained. As such the findings of the High Court are liable to be
 reversed and set aside. [306H; 307AJ

       The suicide having been committed within a period of seven years F
 from the date of her marriage in accordance with the provisions of
 Section l l3A the Court may presume having regard to all .the other
 circumstances of the case that such suicide had been abetted by the
 husband and his relations. Therefore, the findings arrived at by the
 Additioruil Sessions Judge are quite in accordance with the provisions of
 this section and the findings of the High Court that the accused persons G
 could not be ·held to have instigated or abetted· the commission of
 offence, is not sustainable in law. ·1[308C-D]

      Section ll3A of th~ Indian Evidence Act was inserted in the
 Statute Book by Act 46 of :1983 whereas the offence under Section 306,
 I.P.C. wa.< committed on June, 23, 1983 i.e. prior to the insertion of the    H
       294         SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [1989] Supp. 1 S.C.R.

A      said provisions in the Indian Evidence Act. ][308E]

            Bardendra Kumar Ghosh, 52 ILR Cal. 197. Mancini v. Director
       of Public Prosecutions, [1942] AC I. Woolmington v. The Director of
       Public Prosecutions, [1935] AC 462~Bater v. Bater, [1950] 2 AET 458
       at 459. Wazir Chand and Anr. v. State of Haryana with State of
B      Haryana v. Wazir Chand and Anr., [1989] I SCC 244, Sat Pal v. Delhi
       Administration, [1976] 2 SCR 11at30. Blyth v. Blyth, [1966] A.C. 643.
       Herridge v. Herridge, [1966] I AER 93, Brij Lal v. Prem Chand &
       Anr: JT. 1989 3 SC 1_, Halsbury's Laws of England, 4th Edn. Vol. 44 P.
       510 & P. 574, refered to.

 C          CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal
       Nos. 600-601of1989.

            From the Judgment and Order dated 13.3.1986 of the Punjab
       and Haryana High Court in Cr!. Revn. No. 434 and 1295 of 1984.

,IJ>        Ms. Geeta Luthra, Ms. Pinky Anand and D.N. Goburdhah for
       the Appellant.

             R.L. Kohli and R.C. Kohli for the Respondents.

             The following Judgments of the Court were delivered
 R
         SABYASACHI MUKHARJI, J. Ravinder Kaur, daughter of
   Gurbachan Singh, resident of Amritsar, was married to Satpal Singh in
   November, 1982. She died on 25th June, 1983 at about 2.30 p.m. She,
   it was alleged, committed suicide because of the cruel behaviour of her
   in-laws soon after her marriage. She used to visit her parents· at
F Amritsar occasionally and during those visits she used to tell them that
   there was demand for dowry and also taunting of her by the members
   of the family of her in-laws and also insinuation that she was carrying
   on illegitimate child. There are sufficient, relevant and acceptable
   evidence to that effect. It is alleged that provoked by the aforesaid
   conduct and behayiour., she committed suicide. The father-in-law,
o mother-in-law and the husband of the accused have been the abettors
   to the crime. The evidence further established that she died of second
   to third degree bums on the body, and there was sprawling of kerosene
   oil on her body and the body was burnt by fire. Accused no. 3-Smt.
   Kamal Dip Kaur, the mother-in-law of the deceased and the mother of
   the accused Satpal Singh, stated in her statement under s. 313 Cr. P.C.
H' that she was lying in her house at that time and the deceased was
                                  •
         GURBACHAN SINGH v. SATPAL SINGH [MUiffiAR.JI, J.j             295

cooking food on a kerosene stove, and as such the deceased caught fire
                                                                              A
accidentally.

       Learned Addi. Sessions Judge held that there was absence of
bum injuries on the fingertips of the mother-in-law and other mem-
bers of the family. As mentioned before, the deceased was married in
November,. 1982. After marriage, she used to stay in the house of             B
her-in-laws ai ·Raja Sansi.. The deceased used to visit the house of her
parents at Amritsar. occasionally, as noted. before. During these visits
she used to tell them that het-fn-laws _were not happy with the dowry
given to the latter. It is further on evidenc~ that she c0mplained _that
her in-laws used to taunt her and insisted her ·tii bring more dowry. It is
stated that she. complained·fu'at the in-laws taunted her that at the time
of the marriage, her parents did not serve proper meals to the in-laws
                                                                              c
and their guests. It is further stated that the accused used to tell her
that· they had been offered by fridge etc. by other parties for the
marriage of the accused while she had not brought dowry expected
from her parents. It is also on evidence that she was often openly
threatened ihat she would be turned out of the house in case she did          D
not bring more articles. These were all established by the evidence of
Gurbachan Singh, father of the deceased and his two daughters. It was
insinuated of her by the accused that she was carrying an illegitimate
child.

      On the totality of these evidence on record, it was held by the         E
learned Sessions Judge that the accused were guilty of abetment to
suicide and as such punishable under s. 306 of the l.P.C. The High
Court on appeal was of the view that the guilt of the accused had not
been proved, and as such acquitted them.

      The first thing that is necessary for proving the offence is the fact F
of suicide. Abetment is a separate and distinct offence provided the
thing abetted is an offence. Abetment does not involve the actual
commission of the crime abetted; it is a crime apart. See the observa-
tions of Barendra Kumar Ghosh,52 ILR Cal. 197. It was contended on
behalf of the accused that there was no direct evidence of the act of
suicide by Ravinder Kaur. There, indeed, could not be in the circums- G
lances in which she "died. She was in the house of her in-laws. There is
ample and sufficient evidence that she had complained that she was
taunted for bringing meagre dowry and that even insinuated that she
was carrying 'an illegitimate child'. The aforesaid facts stand estab-
lished by cogent and reliable evidence. These are grave and serious
P!Ovocation enougji for an ordinary woman in the Indian set u_p, to do H
             .
                                        •
   296          SUPREME COURT REPORTS               [1989) Supp. 1 S.C.R.

1" what the deceased is alleged to have done. There is also evidence that
    the persons in the house of her in-laws including the mother-in-law-
    mother of the accused Satpal Singh, made no attempt to save her from
    the burn injuries. The absence of any burn injury in the hands of the
    people around, indicates and establishes that there was no attempt to
    save the deceased though she was seen being burnt. The evidence of
B attitude and conduct of the in-laws-the father-in-law, mother-in-law
    and the husband after Ravinder Kaur, the deceased, got burns in not
    informing the parents and not taking prompt steps to take her to
    hospital for giving medical assistance corroborate the inference that
    these accused connived and abetted the crime. Criminal charges must
    be brought home and proved beyond all reasonable doubt. While civil
C case may be proved by mere preponderance of evidence, in criminal
    cases the prosecution must prove the charge beyond reasoonable
    doubt. See Mancini v. Director of Public Prosecutions, [1942] AC 1,
    Woolmington v. The Director of Public Prosecutions, [1935] AC 462. It
    is true even today, as much as. it was before. There must not be any
    'reasonable doubt' about the guilt of the accused in respect of the
D particular offence charged. The courts must strictly be satisfied that no
    innocent perso.n, innocent in the sense of not being guilty of the
    offence of which he is charged, is convicted, even at the risk of letting
    of Isome guilty persons. Even after the introduction of s. 498A of the
    I.P.C. and s. 113A of the Indian Evidence Act, the proof must be
    beyond any shadow of reasonable doubt. There is a higher standard of
 IE proof in criminal cases than in civil cases, but there is no absolute
    standard in either of the cases. See the observations of Lord Denning
    in Bater v. Bater, [1950) 2 AER 458 at 459 but the doubt must be of a
    reasonable man. The standard adopted must be the standard adopted
    by a prudent man which, of course, may vary from case to case,
 F circumstances to circumstances. Exaggerated devotion to the rule of
    benefit of doubt must not nurture fancilful doubts or lingering sus-
    picions and thereby destroy social defence. Justice cannot be made
    sterile on the plea that it is better to let hundred guilty escape than
    punish an innocent. Letting guilty escape is not doing justice, accord-
    ing to law.

         The conscience of the court can never be bound by any rule .but
  that is coming itself dictates the consciousness and prudent exercise of
  the judgment. Reasonable doubt is simply that degree of doubt which
  would permit a reasonable and just man to come to a conclusion.
  Reasonableness of the doubt must be commensurate with the nature of
H the offence to be investigated.
                 GURBACHAN SINGH v. SATPAL SINGH [RAY, J.I                 297

            Baving regard _to the circumstances of the case, there is no direct
                                                                                  A
     evidence indicating tile c;ircumstances in which the death took place,
     the conduct of the accused and the nature of the crime with which the
     accused was charged, there cannot be any scope of doubt that the
     learned Sessions Judge was right and the conviction was properly
     made. This is not a case where there could be two views possible on the
     facts found and on the Jacts which_ could not_possibly be found because      B
     of\the nature of the offence. The fact the two view are reasonably possi-
     ble, is not established by the fact that two different conclusions are
     reached by two adjudicatory authorities. The factum of that may be
     only a piece of evidence, but whether two views at all are possible or
     not, has to be judged in all circumstances l?y the Judge, by the logic of
     the facts found in the background of law. For the reasons aforesaid, J
     respectfully agree with the judgment and order proposed by my                c
     learned brother.

           RAY,J. Specialleavegranted.

           These appeals are at the instance of Gurbachan Singh, the com-         D
     plainant against the judgment and order passed in Criminal Appeal
     No. 434 SB of 1984 by the High Court of Punjab & Haryana at
     Chandigarh acquitting the accused-respondents of the charge under s.
     306 of the Indian Penal Code on setting aside the conviction and sen-
     tence passed by the Additional Session Judge on August 9, 1984 con-
     victing and sentencing a!Lthe accused. The appeal was allowed on             E
     holding that there was no evidence on record that the accused at the
     time of commission of suicide by Ravinder Kaur, in any way instigated
     or abetted her to commit suicide and as such the prosecution failed to
     establish the charge against the accused and their conviction conse-
     quently can not be sustained.
                                                                                  F
            The prosecution case is that the deceased, Ravinder Kaur,
1
      daughter of Gurbachan Singh, the complainant was married to Satpal
      Singh in November, 1982. After marriage, Ravinder Kaur started liv-
      ing in the house of _her in-laws at Raja Sansi. She used to visit the
      house of her parents at Amritsar occasionally and during these visits,
      she used to tell them that her ·in-laws were not happy with the dowry       G
      given to her and they used to taunt her and insisted her to bring more
      dowry and that they even used to taunt he-i that her parents at the time
    • of the marriage did not serve them with proper meals. The accused
      also used to tell her that they were being offered Fridge etc. by the
      other parties in the marriage of Accused Satpal Singh and that she has
      not broug_ht the dowry expected from her parents. She was often told        H
    298         SUPREME-COURT REPORTS              [1989] Supp. 1 S,<;.R.

    by them that she would be turned out of the house, in case she did not
A
    bring more articles.

        In November, 1982, Gurbachan Singh visited the house of her
  in-laws at Raja Sansi where his daughter complained that the
  behaviour of her in-laws towards her was not cordial and that they
B were maltreating her for bringing insufficient dowry and they even
  taunted her that she was carrying an illegitimate child. Hearing these
  complaints from her daughter, Gurbachan Singh brought her daughter
  to his house at Amritsar, one day prior to Baisakhi, 1983 and his
  daughter continued to remain at his house for about eight days. There-.
  after Satpal Singh, his father Harbhajan Singh, accused and his mother
c Smt.  Kanwal Dip Kaur along with Harjit Singh, and Mohinder Singh,
  maternal uncles of Satpal Singh came to the house of Gurbachan Singh
  at Amritsar and pursuaded that he should send Ravinder kaur with
  them whereupon Gurbachan Singh told them that his daughter comp'
  lained aginast the illtreatment and cruel behaviour towards her for
  bringing insufficient dowry and they also taunted her for this as well as
D for her illegitimate child and put pressure on her to bring more dowry.
  So he . was reluctant to send ~r daughter back to her in-laws.
  Gurbachan Singh called Ved Prakash, President of the Mohalla Com-
  mittee, Smt. Raj Kumari, a social worker living in the neighbourhood
  of Gurbachan Singh and one Ramesh Kumar to his house and all these
  compfamts and grievances were repeated in presence of these persons.
E The 11ccused assured him that in future they would not maltreat and
  Jaunt her and that he would not receive any complaint against them.
  They also assured him that in future they would not ask her to bring
  more dowry. On these assurances of the accused, Gurbachan Singh
  sent his daughter with the accused to Raja Sansi, the house of the
  accused .

     .,  For about two months, Gurbachan Singh did not receive any
    information from his dau~ter and so he sent his two daughters Surjit
    Kaur and Sajinder Kaur to Raja Sansi to the house of the in;jaws of
    Ravinder Kaur to enquire about her welfare. The said daughters of
    Gurbachan Singh went to the house of the in-laws of Ravinder Kaur on
G June 23, 1983 that is, two days prior to the death of Ravinder Kaur.
    The deceased complained to them about the torture as well as cruel
    behaviour of her in-laws, as before and they have not stopped
    maltreating her and torturing her a11d she was not happy there. On
    June 25, 1983 at about 6.30 p.m., Mohinder Singh, maternal uncle of
    Satpal Singh came to the shop of Gurbachan Singh at Amritsar and
Ii- informed him that his dau$hter committed suicide by sprinkling
             GURBACHAN SINGH v. SATPAL SINGH [RAY, I.]              299

 kerosene oil on her body and then setting herself on fire and that she
                                                                           A
 was lying at S.G.T.B. Hospital, Amritsar. Gurbachan· Singh
 immediately went to the hospital and found the dead body of her
 daughter lying in the dead house. It has been alleged,. that Ravinder
 Kaur committed suicide on June 25, 1983 at 2.30 p.m ..having fed up
 with the cruel behaviour of her in-laws. The appellant alongwith the
 members of his family stayed in the hospital. On June 26, 1983,           B
 Gurmeet Singh, A.S.I. Police Station, Ajnala came to the dead house
 at Amritsar at about 5 p.m. and examined the dead body of Ravinder
 Kaur. He recorded the statements of Gurbachan Singh, Ved Prakash
 and Ramesh Kumar.

      The ~tatement of Gurbachan Singh was reproduced in the
 Roznamcha, and the statements of Gurbachan Singh and Ved
                                                                        ·c
 Prakash, President of the Mohalla Sudhar Committee and Ramesh
 Kumar though disclosed the commission of a cognizable offence by the
 accused '.yet -Gurmit Singn, A.S.I. and even Shri Iqbal Singh Dhillon,
 D.S.P., Ajnala Police Station did not register the case for extraneous
 reasons.                                                                D

       On June 27, 1983, Dr. Gurdip Kumar Uppal, Medical Officer,
 Police Hospital, Amritsar conducted the post mortem examination on
 the dead body of Ravinder Kaur and found 2nd to third degree bums
 on the body of deceased.
                                                                           E
       Gtirbachan Singh alongwith his daughters and Raj Kumari,
 Ramesh Kumar, Ved Prakash and others met the S.S.P. Amritsar in
 this regard and the investigation of the case was then entrusted by
 S.S.P. to Shri Surjit Singh, S.P. (Head Quarters) Amritsar who sum-
 moned Gurbachan Singh and other persons and recorded their state-
 ments on July 23, 1983.           ·                                       F

       All the three accused were charged for an offence under s. 306 of
 the Indian Penal Code and they pleaded not guilty to the charg~
 framed against them. The accused no. 3 Smt. Kanwal Dip Kaur, the
 mother of the accused, Satpal Singh stated in her statement under
 s. 313 Cr. P.C. that she was lying in her house at the time and the       G
 dr.ceased was cooking food in the kitchen on a kerosene stove and she
 caught fire accidentally.

        The learned Additional Sessions Judge held that the absence of
. burn injuries on the fingertips of the mother-in-law or other members
  of the family as evjd~nt from the statement of D.W. 1, Jaswant Singh,    .H
    300         SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [1989] Supp. 1 S.C.R.

    ruled out the story of accidental fire as set up by the defence. He
A   further held refering to the provisions of s. 113A of the Evidence Act
    that having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case it may be
    presumed that the accused persons have abetted the suicide committed
    by the deceased and they fail to reverse this prosecution case by any
    evidence. Accordingly, the Additional Sessions Judge, Amritsar con-
B   victed the accused under s. 306 IPC and sentenced them to suffer
    rigorous imprisonment for five years each and to pay a fine of Rs.2,000
    each, in default of payment of fine the accused shall be further liable to
    rigorous imprisonment for four months.

          The accused-respondents preferred an appeal being Criminal
    Appeal No. 454 of 1984 in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana. The
c   appeal was allowed and the conviction and sentence was set aside on
    the ground that the prosecution failed to establish the charge against
    the accused persons. Hence this appeal by special leave has been filed
    by the complainant.

D         It has been contended by the learned counsel appearing on
    behalf of the appellant that the cruel behaviour, mal-treatment and
    taunts for not bringing sufficient dowry have been made to the
   .deceased, Ravinder Kaur, soon after her coming to the house of her
    in-laws, It has also been urged that in November, 1982 she complained
    of her in-laws' ill-treatment and taunts to his father and her father took
ij her to his house. It has also been urged that the accused Satpal Singh
    and his father accused Harbhajan Singh and other relatives of the
    accused met the deceased father at his house and requested him to
    send his daughter to the house of her in-laws and assured them that
    they would not maltreat her or taunt her or torture her for not bringing
    sufficient dowry. These assurances were given in the presence of Ved
P Prakash, the President of the Mohalla Sudhar Committee, and Raj
    Kumari, a social worker and one Ramesh Kumar. Gurbachan Singh,
    father of the deceased on these assurances given by the accused and
    their relations sent his daughter, Ravinder Kuar to her in laws house.
    It has also been urged that on June 23, 1983 the two daughters Surjit
    Kaur and Sujinder Kaur were sent by Gurbachan Singh to the house of
G the in-laws ·of Ravinder Kaur to enquire about her welfare. Surjit
    Kaur, PW-7 stated in her statement under s. 161 Cr. P.C. that her
    sister Ravinder Kaur complained them about the same ill-treatment by
   .:her husband continuing in the same manner as before and as such she
    was not happy. This was reported by them to their father at Amritsar.
    It has also been urged that all the three accused taunted the deceased,
H Ravinder Kaur that she was carrying an illegitimate child. Being
                GURBACHAN SINGH v. SATPAL SINGH (RAY, J.)                 301

    depressed with these taunts and ill-treatment the deceased committed
                                                                                 A
    suicide by sprinkling kerosene on her person and setting her to fire.
    The evidences of PW-4 Gurbachan Singh, father of the deceased and
    the evidence of PW-7 Surjeet Kaur as well as evidence of PW-6 Raj
    Kumari were duly considered by the trical court and the trial court
    clearly-found the -accused persons guility of the offence of abetting ,the
    suicide committed by the deceased. The court of appeal below had
    wrongly found that the prosecution could not prove charge against the
    accused and set aside the order of conviction and sentence made by the
    trial court and acquitted the accused. It has been urged in this connec-
    tion that the defence that it was a case of accidental fire and not of
    suicide was also not believed by the trial court and the trial court gave
    very cogent and plausible reasons for not believing this story and hold-     ·c
    ing that it was a case of suicide committed b_y the deceased Ravil)der
    Kaur by the taunts and ill-treatment made to her by her in laws and this
    forced her to take her own life by suicide. It has been submitted that
    the accused have abetted the commission of suicide by Ravinder Kaur,
    deceased and the accused are, therefore, guilty of the said charge. The
    order of acquittal made by the High Court is not sustainable in these        D
    circumstances.

           The learned counsel, Mr. R.C. Kohli has made three fold sub-
    missions before this Court. The first submission is that the case of
;   suicide committed by the deceased Ravinder Kaur was not proved and
    as such the conviction on the charge of s. 306 I.P.C. as made by the         E
    trial court was not sustainable. He has further submitted that the pro-
    secution has not proved beyond reasonable doubts that the deceased
    committed suicide. The next submission made is that the evidences
    produced on behalf of the prosecution are meagre and do not prove
    that the accused had abetted the commission of suicide by the
    deceased Ravinder Kaur. The prosecution did not prove that there was         F[
    any instigation1by the accused persons charged with the offence in this
    case. The High Court has rightly held that the prosecution failed to
    prove the ingredients of s. 306 of the IPC and acquitted the accused of
    the chargl under s. 306. This order of acquittal should not be
    interfered with by this Court in this appeal. It has been lastly contended
    that if two reasonable views could be taken of evidences, one in favour      G
    of the accused and the other against them the appellate court should
    not interfere in such case and set aside the order of acquittal.

          As regards the first submission that the case of suicide has not
    .been proved, it is relevant to mention that in the FIR (Ex. PF) lodged
     by the complainant it has been specifically stated that due to constant     H.
     302         SUPREME COURT REPORTS               [1989] Supp. 1 S.C.R.

     harassment of Ravinder Kaur by the accused persons for having
     brought less dowry in her marriage as well as due to constant taunts
     and also torture, the deceased committed suicide 1)y pquring kerosene
     oil on her and burnt herself and afterwards she died. It has been
     further stated in the FIR that the complainant apprehended that some
     quarrel must have happen<;d on the day of the incident between his
B    daughter, Ravinder Kaur and her husband Satpal Singh, father-in-law        j
     Harbhajan Singh and mother-in-law Kanwaldip Kaur before she took           i
     the extreme step. P.W. 4, Gurbachan Singh has also stated in his           l
                                                                                I
     deposition that his daughter used to tell them that her husband, father-
     in.-law and mother-in-law always taunted her saying that her parents       ~
     had not given sufficient dowry during the marriage and had not even
     served them with proper meals at the time of marriage. He further
.c   stated that on 25th June, 1983 at 6.30 p.m. Mohinder Singh, maternal
     uncle of Satpal Singh came to shop and told him that his daughter had
     committed suicide by sprinkling kerosene oil on her body and then
     setting her on fire. In his statement under Section 161, Cr. P.C.
     recorded on 23rd July, 1983 he also stated that her two daughters
D    namely Sajinder Kaur and Surjeet Kaur (P.W. 7) who visited Raja
     Sansi to meet their sister, Ravinder Kaur two days before the incident
     were told by her deceased daughter that her in-laws often taunted her
     for not bringing sufficient dowry. It has also been stated by him that
     the accused taunted her daughter saying that she was carrying an
     illegal child which is a great defame for them. It has also been stated
     that "due to the bad treatment meted out towards his daughter Ravin-
     der Kaur at the hands of her husband, Satpal Singh, her mother-in-
     law, Kanwaldip Kaur and her father-in-law, Harbhajan Singh that she
     had not brought scooter and fridge and had brought less dowry in her
     marriage they had forced her to put kerosene oil on her body and
     commit suicide and as they often taunted her saying that she had
F    begotten immoral and illegal pregnancy and for this reason she had
     committed suicide and thus had lost her life."

        Furthermore, though the house of the accused persons is not far
  off yet the information was given not by his son-in-law or other mem-
  bers of the family promptly but it was given by the maternal uncle of
G the son-in-law, Satpal Singh at 6.30 p.m. to the appellant although the.
  incident occurred at-ab.out 2.30 p.m. It is also evident that the
  deceased, Ravinder Kaur who had second to third degree burns on her
  person was brought to the hospital in the evening and the doctor, P. W.
  1 immediately examined her and declared that she was already dead.
  Another most pertinent question which has been decided by the Trial
H Court is that the defence story as stated by her mother-in-law,
            GURBACHAN SINGH v. SATPAL SINGH [RAY, J.]                 303

Kanwaldip Kaur in her examination under section 313 Cr. P.C. that it
                                                                             A
was a case of accidental fire and not a case of suicide, was falsified by
the absence of burn injuries on the finger tips of the mother-in-law or
other members of the family. The Trial Court rightly held "that the
intending circumstances show that she was not allowed to move till the
process of burning had become irrecoverable and till she succumbed to
her injuries."                                                               B

      We do not find any infirmity in this finding and we also hold on
consideration and appraisement of the evidences as well as the
circumstances set out hereinbefore that it was not a case of accidental
fire but a case of suicide committed by the deceased Ravinder Kaur
being constantly abused, taunted for bringing less dowry a11d also
being d_efamed for carrying an illegitimate child. It is pertinent to.men-   c
tion that in the appe-al before the High Court it was not urged on
behalf of the accused that the case of suicide was not proved and as
such there was no finding by the High Court on this score. In such
circumstances this argument is totally devoid of merit and as such it is
not sustainable. ·                                                           D

      It is convenient to refer in this connection the decision cited at
the bar in Wazir Chand and Another v. State of Haryana with State of
Haryana v. Wazir Chand and Another, (1989] 1SCC244 to which one
of us (B.C. Ray, J) was a party, wherein it has been held that "a plain
reading of this provision (S. 306 I.P.C) shows ihat before a person can      E
be convicted of abetting the suicide of any other person, it must be
established that such other person committed suicide." This decision is
not at all applicable to the 'instant case in view of our specific finding
that the evidence adduced on behalf of the prosecution clearly
establish that the deceased Ravinder Kaur committed suicide at the
instigation and abetment of the accused persons in the commission of         F
the said offence.

      The next argument advanced is that the evidences were too
meagre and unreliable to sustain the conviction. It has also been urged
that the High Court considered the evidences and came to a reason-
able finding that the prosecution could not prove the ingredients of         G
Section 306, IPC as there was no instigation by the accused nor there
was any conspiracy for the commission of that offence. The High
Court arrived at this finding on some contradictions in the statement of
the evidences of P.W. 4, Gurbachan Singh, father of the deceased and
of P. W. 7, Surjeet Kaur, sister of the deceased respectively with their
statements made under Section 161 Cr. P.C.                                   H
    304         SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 (1989] Supp. 1 S.C.R.

          It is convenient to refer in this connection the observation made
A   by this Court in the case of Sat Pal v. Delhi Administration, [1976] 2
    SCR 11 at 30 to the following effect:

                "It emerges clear that on a criminal prosecution when a
                witness is cross-examined and contradicted with the leave
B               of the court, by the party calling him, his evidence cannot,
                as a matter of law, be treated as washed off the record
                altogether. It is for the Judge of fact to consider in each
                case whether as a result of such cross-examination and con-
                tradiction, the witness stands thoroughly discredited or can
                'till be believed in regard to a part of his testimony. If the
                Judge finds that in the process, the credit of the witness has
c               not been completely shaken, he may, after reading and
                considering the evidence of the witness, as a whole, with
                due caution and care, accept, in the light of the other evi-
                dence on the record that part of his testimony which he
                finds to be creditworthy and act upon it."
D
         We have already referred to the material portions of the FIR as
   well as all the statements made by P. W. 4 in his evidence as well as his
   statement under Section 161 Cr. P.C. as well as the evidence of P.W. 7
   and her statement under Section 161 Cr. P.C. On a plain reading of
   these statements it will be crystal clear that the accused persons since
B the date when the deceased, Ravinder Kaur went to her in-laws' house
   after the marriage, was mal-treated and was constantly taunted, haras-
   sed and tortured for not bringing sufficient dowry from her father and
   she was taunted for carrying an illegitimate child. The appellant some-
   time in November, 1982 went to her in-laws house. His daughter,
   Ravinder Kaur complained to him about this torture and constant
F taunts for not bringing sufficient dowry. On hearing this, her father
   brought her to his house and after eight days the accused persons,
   Satpal Singh, his father Harbhajhan Singh and two maternal uncles
   came to the house of the appellant and requested him to send his
   daughter with them assuring that there would be no further taunts or
   any ill-treatment by the respondents. The President of the Mohalla
a Sudhar Committee, Ved Prakash, P.W. 5 and a social worker, Smt.
   Raj Kumari, P.W. 6 and another person Ramesh Kumar of the same
   village were called in by Gurbachan Singh and in their presence all
   these talks were held.· On the assurances given, Gurbachan Singh
   sent his daughter with them. It is also in evidence that as no infor-
   mation of her was received, Gurbachan Singh sent his two other
Ii daughters namely Surjeet Kaur, P. W. 7 and Sa jinder Kaur, to the
 \




            GURBACHAN SINGH v. SATPAL SINGH [RAY, J.]                 305

house of the in-laws of the deceased Ravinder Kaur to enquire about
                                                                             A
her welfare. Ravinder Kaur told them that there was no improvement
in the treatment meted out to her and she was being taunted and
tortured by her in-laws in the same way and she was not happy. Two
days thereafter i.e. on 25th June, 1983 at 2.30 P.M. this unfortunate
incident occurred. P.W. 7, Gurjeet Kaur also stated in her deposition
to the same effect. In her statement under Section 161 Cr. P.C. she          B
also stated categorically that after about one month of the marriage
whenever Ravinder Kaur met her she told that her in-laws i.e. the
responct'ents were not treating her well for bringing Jess dowry. She
was .also told that the respondents were demanding refrigerator and a
scooter. They· had also taunted_ that she was having illegitimate child.
She further stated that two days prior to the present occurrence she
and her sister, Sajinder Kaur.went to Raja Sansi to enquire about the        c
welfare of our sister, Ravinder Kaur who told them weepingly that she
was being beaten by the accused and again was mal-treated for bring-
ing less lowry and scooter and friedge etc. She further stated that the
respondents were levelling allegations that she had been carrying an
illegitimate child and that she should die. It was also stated by her that   D
her mother-in-law, Kanwaldip Kaur was present in the house and she
was abusing Ravinder Kaur in their presence.

       The learned Sessions Judge after carefully considering and
weighing the evidences held that the witnesses P.W. 4, Gurbachan
Singh, P.W. 5, Ved Prakash, President of the Mohalla Sudhar Com-             E
mittee, P.W. 6, Smt. Raj Kumari, social worker and P.W. 7, Surjeet
Kaur clearly proved that the respondents mal-treated Ravinder Kaur
for bringing less dowry and they even tortured her for carrying an
illegitimate child. The said witnesses testified to the greedy and lusty
nature of the respondents that they were persistently demanding more
money. It has also been held that the worst part of the cruelty was that     F
she was even taunted for carrying an illegitimate child. The Trial Court
also held that a respectable lady cannot bear this kind of false allega-
tion levelled against her and this must have mentally tortured her.
Thus the persistent demands of the accused for more money, their
tortures and taunts amounted to instigation and abetment that compel-
led her to do away with her life.                                            G

      This finding was arrived at by the learned Sessions Judge on a
proper appreciation of the evidences adduced by the prosecution. The
High Court without properly considering and weighing the evidences
of the prosecution witnesses and on a wrong appreciation of the evi-
dences found that the prosecution failed to prove the ingredients of H
    306         SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [1989] Supp. 1 S.C.R.
                                                                                ~-

    Section 306 of I.P .C. It was also held that there was no evidence on
A
    record that the accused at the time of commission of suicide by Ravin-
    der Kaur, deceased in any way instigated or abetted her to commit
    suicide even though it has been brought but in evidences that the de-
    ceased was being maltreated by the accused continuously after her
    coming to the house of her in-laws. It was further held that the pro-
B   secution has singularly failed to establish the charge against the
    accused and their conviction and sentences were consequently
    unsustainable.

          We have already stated hereinfore that P.W. 4, Gurbachan
    Singh, P.W. 7, Surjeet Kaur have clearly stated in their depositions
    about the ill-treatment, torture and the cruel behaviour meted out to
c   the deceased Ravinder Kaur which instigated her to take the extreme
    step of putting an end to her life by sprinkling kerosene oil on her body
    and setting fire. We have also stated hereinbefore that though the
    incident occurred at 2.30 P.M. the information of the death of Ravin-
    der Kaur by burning was given to her father, Gurbachan Singh at 6.30
D   P .M. in his shop at Amritsar. Gurbachan Singh with members of his
    family immediately rushed to the hospital and found the dead body of
    her daughter in the dead house of the hospital. It is also in evidence
    that Ravinder Kaur was brought to the hospital after much delay when
    she was already dead.

E         The Trial Court rightly held that in such cases direct evidence is
    hardly available. It is the circumstantial evidence and the conduct of
    the accused persons which are to be taken into consideration for
    adjudicating upon the trustfulness or otherwise of the prosecution
    case.

F        We have alreay referred to hereinbefore the evidences of the
  prosecution witnesses who clearly testified to the greedy and lusty
  nature of the accused in that they persistently taunted the deceased
  and tortured her for not having brought sufficient dowry from her
  father. It is also in evidence that they also taunted her for carrying an
  illegitimate child. All these tortures and taunts caused depression to
G her mind and drove her to take the extreme step of putting an end to
  her life by sprinkling kerosene oil on her person and setting fire.
  Circumstantial evidence as well as the evidences of the prosecution
  witnesses clearly prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused
  persons instigated and abetted Ravinder Kaur, deceased in the com-
  inission of the offence by committing suicide by burning herself. The
H findings arrived at by the Trial Court after considering and weighing
            GURBACHAN SINGH v. SATPAL SINGH [RAY, J.)                  307

the entire evidences are unexceptional. The findings arrived at by the
                                                                              A
High Court without considering properly the circumstantial evidence
as well as the evidences of the prosecµtion witnesses cannot be
sustained. As such the findings of the High Court are liable to be
reversed and set aside.

     The High Court drew an inference from the conduct of                     B
Gurbachan Singh, P.W. 4 in making a delay of about 24 hours after
receipt of the information regarding her daughter's death to make a
statement to the police about the incident with lodging the F.I.R. on
the same date, i.e. June 25, 1983 or on the following morning. The
High Court, therefore, held that all these circumstances would raise
considerable doubt regarding the veracity of the evidence of these two
witnesses (P. W. 4 and P. W. 7) and point an infirmity in their evidence
                                                                              c
as would render it unsafe to base the conviction of the accused.

      It is in evidence of P. W. 4 that he ·was intimate about the death of
his daughter by committing suicide, by the maternal uncle of Satpal
Singh, son-in-law on June 25, 1983 at about 5.30 p.m. He immediately          D
rushed to the hospital with members of his family where his daughter
was brought. It is also in his evidence that he stayed there the whole
night with his wife and other members of his family near the dead body
of his deceased daughter and also on the next day till the dead body
was handed over to him after the completion of post martem in the
afternoon. The Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police of Ajnala Police Sta-        E
tion reached SGTB Hospital on the next day i.e. on June 26, 1983 and
got his statement recorded there. It has been rightly held by the Addi-
tional Sessions Judge that in the circumstances it cannot be said that
there has been any delay in reporting the matter to the police. We fully
accept this finding of the Additional Sessions Judge and we also held
that the delay in lodging ·the FIR in the above circumstances does not        F
raise any doubt regarding the veracity of the said two witnesses and
there is no infirmity in the evidences of P. W. 4 and· P. W. 7 which
would render them unsafe to base the conviction of the accused as
wrongly observed by the High Court.

     It is also convenient to refer to this connection to the provisions      G
of Section 113A of Indian Evidence Act, 1872 which provide that:

            "113-A. Presumption as to abetment of suicide by a mar-
            ried women-When the question is whether the commis-
            sion of suicide by a woman had been abetted by .her
            husband or any relative of her husband and it is shown that       H
    308         SUPREME COURT REPORTS               [1989] Supp. 1 S.C.R.

                she had committed suicide within a period of seven years
A
                from the date of her marriage and that her husband or such
                relative of her husband had subjected her to cruelty, the
                court may presume, having regard to all the other circums-
                tances of the case, that such suicide had been abetted by
                her husband or by such relative of her husband."
a
        In the instant case the deceased Ravinder Kaur was married to
  the accused, Satpal Singh in.. November, 1982 and she committed
  suicide on June 25, 1983. It has also been found on a consideration of
  the circumstantial evidence that she was compelled. to take the
  extreme step of committing suicide as the accused persons had sub-
c jected  her to cruelty by constant taunts, mal-treatment and also by
  alleging that she has been carrying an illegitimate child. The suicide
  having been committed within a period of seven years from the date of
  her marriage in accordance with the provisions of this Section, the
  Court may presume having regard to all the other circumstances of the
  case which we have set out earlier that such suicide has been abetted
D by the husband and his relations. Therefore, the findings arrived at by
  the Additional Sessions Judge are quite in accordance with the ,provi-
  sions of this Section and the finding of the High Court that the accused
  persons could not be held to have instigate or abetted the commission
  of offence, is not sustainable in law.

E         It has been contended on behalf of the accused-respondents that
    Section 113-A of the Indian Evidence Act was inserted in the Statutes
    Book by Act 46 of 1983 whereas the offence under Section 306, I.P.C.
    was committed on June 23, 1983 i.e. prior to the insertion of the said
    provision in the Indian Evidence Act. It has, therefore, been submit-
    ted by the learned counsel for the respondents that the provisions of
F   this Section cannot be taken recourse to while coming to a finding
    regarding the presumption as to abetment of suicide committed by a
    marriage woman, against the accused persons.

       The provisions of the said Section do not create any new offence
  and as such it does not create any substantial right but it is merely a
G matter of procedure of evidence and as such it is retrospective and will
  be applicable to this case. It is profitable to refer in this connection to
  Halsbury's Laws of England, (Fourth Edition), Volume 44 Page 570
  wherein it has been stated that:

                "The general rule as that all statutes, other than those
H               which are merely declaratory or which relate only to mat-
-I



                 GURBACHAN SINGH v. SATPAL SINGH [RAY, J.]                ,309

                  ters of procedure or of evidence, are prima facie prospec-
 L~                                                                                A
                  tive, and retrospective effect is not to be given to them
                  unless, by express words or necessary implication, it
                  appears that this was the intention of the legislature
                                "

           It has also been stated in the said volume of Halsbury's Law of         B
      England at page 574 that:

                  "The presumption against retrospection does not apply to
                  legislation concerned merely with matters of procedure or
                  of evidence; on the contrary, provisions of that nature are
                  to be construed as retrospective unless there is a clear indi-
                  cation that such was not the intention of Parliament."           c

           In Blyth v. Blyth, [1966] A.C. 643 the wife left the husband in
      1954 an.d lived with the co-respondent until August, 1955, when she
      broke off the association. In 1958 the husband and wife met by chance
      and sexual intercourse took place. In December, 1962, the husband            D
      sought a divorce on the ground of his wife's adultery. During the
      pendency of the application section 1 of the Matrimonial Causes Act,
      1963 came into force on July 31, 1963 which provided that any pre-
      sumption of condonation which arises from the continuance or
      resumption of marital intercourse may be rebutted on the part of a
      husband, as well as on the part a of wife, by evidence sufficient to         E
      negative the necessary intent. The question arose whether this provi-
      sion which came into force on July 31, 1963 can be applied in the
      instant case. It was held that the husband's evidence was admissible in
      that Section 1 of the Act of 1963 only altered the law as to the admissi-
      bility of evidence and the effect which the courts are to give to evi-
      dence, so that the rule against giving retrospective effect to Acts of       F
      Parliament did not apply.

            In Herridge v. Herridge, [1966] l AER 93 similar question arose,
      it was held that section 2( 1) of the Act of 1963 was a procedural
      provision, for it dealt with the adducing of evidence in relation to an
      allegation of condonation in any trial after July 31, 1963; accordiIJgly     G
      the subsection was applicable, even though the evidence related to
      events before that date, and the resumption of cohabitation in the
      present case did not amount, by reason of Section 2(1), to
      condonation.

            On a conspectus of these decisions, this argument on behalf of         H
    310        SUPREME COURT REPORTS               (1989) Supp. 1 S.C.R.

A the appellant fails and as such the presumption arising under Section
  113-A of The Evidence Act has been rightly taken intO'consideration
  by the Trial Court.

         It has been urged by referring to the decision in Brij Lal v. Prem
    Chand & Anr., JT 1989 3 SC 1 that where two views could reasonably
B
    be taken the appellate court should not interfere with the order of
    acquittal made by the Trial Court.

         In the instant case on a proper consideration and weighing of the
   evidences the only reasonable view that can be taken is that the cruel
   behaviour and constant taunts and harassment caused by the accused
C persons while Ravinder Kaur, deceased was in her in-laws house
   instigated her to commit suicide and in <;>ur considered opinion no
   other reasonable view follows from a proper consideration and
   appraisement of the evidences on record. As such the decision cited
   above is not applicable to the facts and circumstances of the instant
  ·Case.
0
        For the reasons aforesaid we set aside the judgment and order of
   acquittal passed by the High Court and affirm the conviction of the
   accused of the offence under Section 3061.P.C. and sentence imposed
   upon them by the Additional Sessions Judge, Amritsar. The respon-
   dents will immediately surrender in the Court of Sessions Judge,
1$ Amritsar to serve out the remaining period of their sentence.

    R.N.J.                                               Appeals allowed.