Court acquits five in 2022 dowry death case

Pune: A city sessions court acquitted five members of a woman’s matrimonial family in a case registered under sections of dowry death, among others, and held that the prosecution had failed to establish allegations of harassment or abetment of suicide.The court referred to evidence showing that the victim had undergone termination of pregnancy after doctors found a serious medical condition in the foetus. The judgment mentioned witnesses had said the woman underwent psychiatric treatment and suffered mental and emotional distress after the failed pregnancy.The woman had died after falling from the first floor of her house in Sus village in July 2022. Her father had alleged that her husband and in-laws had harassed her to get Rs1 lakh for construction of their house and subjected her to mental and physical cruelty, following which she died.Additional sessions judge Aniruddha S Gandhi said the prosecution failed to prove the alleged dowry demand and harassment beyond reasonable doubt. The court noted inconsistencies in the evidence regarding the alleged monetary demand and observed that the prosecution witnesses had not established continuous cruelty linked to dowry.The court held that the available evidence indicated that the woman’s mental condition had deteriorated following the loss of her unborn child and concluded that the incident appeared to be an accidental fall rather than suicide. The court acquitted all the accused as the prosecution failed to prove suicide, abetment or dowry death.