New Delhi. Patna High Court gave a historic verdict in the dowry harassment case. The court gave symbolic punishment only to two judges of Samastipur district court in the case of wrongly conducting the trial and then sentencing the petitioner. In view of the torture caused to the petitioner, the High Court ordered both the judges to pay a symbolic compensation of Rs 100. The bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary said in its order that a person was convicted against whom even the case was not fit to be prosecuted. The above order was passed while accepting a petition filed by Sunil Pandit, a resident of Dalsinghsarai sub-division of Samastipur district, against the sentence awarded to him by a subordinate court.
Pandit had challenged an order of the Additional Sessions Court of Samastipur, in which he was sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment in 2016. The petitioner was named in an FIR lodged by a woman resident of the same village. The woman had accused her husband of dowry harassment. Justice Choudhary acquitted the petitioner of the offense under IPC section 498A (cruelty to a woman by her husband or his relatives) and the Dowry Act. The court found that the petitioner was not a relative of the woman’s husband but was merely an advisor to other accused persons.
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Fine imposed on Session Judge and Magistrate Judge…
The High Court directed the concerned judicial officers Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Additional Sessions Judge-III, Chief Judicial Magistrate of Samastipur to deposit a token amount of Rs 100 each in the section. Justice Choudhary said the fine of a “symbolic amount” is being imposed considering the mental agony, trauma and social stigma caused to the petitioner due to the indifferent approach of both the subordinate courts. Justice Chaudhary said, “It is the obligation and duty of all courts to carefully investigate the complaint and then take cognizance and take action against the accused persons as per law.”
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Tags: Bihar News, Dowry Harassment, Patna high court, Samastipur news
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 25, 2024, 22:27 IST