A Delhi court has convicted the husband and mother-in-law of a woman for subjecting her to cruelty and demanding money.
The father and the brother of the victim said that the woman had killed herself due to constant harassment.
The victim’s brother had told the court that the accused had not demanded any dowry before marriage. The accused started raising demands for money after the victim’s father got compensation in lieu of acquisition of his land.
The court rejected the prosecution’s charge that the demand, which the father of the woman had met thrice by giving them ₹50,000 each time, was dowry. It said that the payment was not made in fulfilment of the dowry sought by the accused.
Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Gulati said that as there was no demand for dowry before the marriage, the payments could not be considered as such.
The court, however, held the duo guilty of subjecting the victim to cruelty for money as both the victim’s father and brother stood by their police statements during their deposition in the court. “The accused used to repeatedly raise monetary demands with the woman’s family and used to harass and assault her in an attempt to coerce her family into meeting their demands,” the judge said, adding: “The duo is held guilty under Section 498-A of the IPC for having subjected the victim to such cruelty that she was forced to commit suicide.”
