The Supreme Court agreed with the arguments of the appellant stating that when the marriage has been declared null and void, there can be no conviction under Section 498A IPC.
“Undisputedly, the marriage between the appellant No.1 and PW-1 has been found to be null and void. As such the conviction under Section 498-A IPC would not be sustainable in view of the judgment of this Court in the case Shivcharan Lal Verma’s case,” the Court said.
With regard to conviction of the appellants under Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, the Court agreed with the reasoning given by the trial court.
“So far as the conviction under Sections 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act is concerned, the learned trial judge by an elaborate reasoning, arrived at after appreciation of evidence, has found that the prosecution has failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt,” the Court noted.
In an appeal/revision, the High court could have set aside the order of acquittal only if the findings as recorded by the trial Court were perverse or impossible, the Supreme Court said.
Source: Barandbench
