Brief Facts
- The case was pertaining to dowry death. The prosecution’s case was predicated on the claim that deceased committed suicide by swallowing poison, as a result of the demand of dowry. The Trial Court found the appellant guilty of offences under Sections 498A, 304B, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. The High Court upheld the order of conviction passed by the Trial Court.
Issues
- Whether the absence of clear, positive & cogent viscera report in cases of death of a victim by taking poison can be considered as absence of conclusive proof?
Held
- Apex Court dismissed the Appeal and upheld the findings of Trial Court and High Court. The Apex Court conducted detailed scrutiny on medico-legal conditions in which poison may not be detected in the body of the deceased one of which was the delay in sending the samples to FSL. In the present case the samples were sent to the FSL after almost five months of incident.
- The absence of detection of poison in the viscera report alone need not be treated as a conclusive proof of the fact that the victim has not died of poison.
- As pointed out by this Court in a number of cases, where the deceased dies as a result of poisoning, it is difficult to successfully isolate the poison and recognise it. Lack of positive evidence in this respect would not result in throwing out the entire prosecution case, if the other circumstances clearly point out the guilt of the accused.
Relevant Para No.
- 30, 33