'Examine Dowry Death Matters From All Possible Angles; Justify How Case Falls Under S. 302, 304-B Or 306 IPC': Allahabad HC Directs UP Police

The Allahabad High Court has directed the Director General of Police, Uttar Pradesh, to instruct Investigating Officers to conduct a "wide spectrum of investigation" in dowry death-related cases and examine the death of a married lady (within 7 years of her marriage) from every possible angle.

"...the I.O. of the case shall hold wide spectrum of investigation to examine and collecting the material during investigation so as to justify his report u/s 173(2) Cr.P.C. as to whether such unnatural death of the lady falls within the ambit of Section 302 I.P.C. or it is a plain and simple Dowry Death punishable u/s 304B I.P.C. or it is a case of suicide punishable u/s 306 I.P.C. where the woman died on account of any abetment by her husband or in-laws," a bench of Justice Rahul Chaturvedi and Justice Mohd. Azhar Husain Idrisi directed.

The Court further underscored that the IOs of the case must specify in their report u/s 173(2) CrPC about the material collected by them during the investigation against the accused persons that the said unnatural death of the lady falls within the realm of Section 302 IPC or falls within the ambit of Section 304B IPC or comes within the scope of Section 306 IPCC

In this regard, the Court also referred to the Supreme Court's 2013 judgment in the case of Jasvinder Saini vs. State (Government of NCT of Delhi) to emphasise that the Investigating Agency should not be guided by FIR alone, and they should also examine the murder case of a lady from every possible angle of the case and thereafter, submit its report u/s 173(2) Cr.P.C.

The Court directed the IOs to examine a woman's death from all possible angles, and this includes investigating if the death was due to murder by her husband and in-laws (Section 302 IPC), suicide due to instigation or abetment by them (Section 306 IPC), or whether it is a case of dowry death (Section 304B IPC). 

Additionally, the High Court also took exception to the routine and mechanical addition of Section 302 of the IPC (Murder) by trial court judges in the state to the cases already involving dowry death and dowry-related inhuman treatment without any supporting material.

The Court explained that the appropriate way for the Courts is to examine if the evidence collected during the investigation, direct or circumstantial, prima facie supports and justifies adding a charge u/s 302 IPC, and then only the Trial Judge should frame the murder charge.

Read more about the court's observations here: Mechanical Addition Of S. 302 IPC 'Unsustainable': Allahabad HC Explains When Trial Courts Can Add Murder Charge In Dowry Death Cases

Case title - Rammilan Bunkar vs. State of U.P and connected appeals 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 413