Noida: A fast track court of an additional sessions judge Saturday sentenced a Jarcha resident to seven years in prison and imposed a cumulative fine of Rs. 31,000, pronouncing him guilty of abetting the suicide of his wife u/s 306, subjecting her to physical and mental cruelty u/s 498A and voluntarily causing her physical pain punishable u/s 323 IPC almost eight years ago in 2018.Judge Sandeep Choudhary, while declaring the quantum of punishment, said the accused, Baby Teotia, has been convicted of dowry harassment and cruelty against his wife, assaulting her, and abetting her suicide. “The purpose of sentencing is not only to punish the offender, but also to maintain respect for the law in society and prevent the recurrence of such crimes,” he said.An FIR had been registered by the Jarcha police on Sept 21, 2018 on the basis of a written complaint filed by Shyoraj Singh against his son-in-law, Baby Teotia, and his father, Ramveer Teotia, accusing them of abetting his daughter’s suicide.Singh said that his daughter, Sanju, was married to Baby about eight years ago. “I had given dowry to my daughter as per my status, but for many years my son-in-law and his family members had been torturing her mentally and physically in various ways for more dowry,” he said.Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered against Baby Teotia and his father, Ramveer Teotia.After postmortem and interrogation of relatives, police filed a chargesheet against the duo, taking cognisance of which, the additional sessions court framed charges against both on Oct 21, 2019. Both denied the charges and sought a trial. The prosecution presented eight witnesses including the plaintiff and other family members. However, in the course of court hearings, Ramveer died on March 19, 2025 and the court dropped the proceedings against him.“In the present case, the prosecution is proving the charges under Sections 498A and 306 of IPC based on direct and circumstantial evidence. Therefore, even if Section 113A presumption is not considered available, the crime can be proven by examining the independent oral and medical evidence presented,” the court held.Section 113A of Indian Evidence Act deals with the presumption that if a married woman commits suicide within seven years of marriage and faced cruelty from her husband and his relatives, the court may discretionally presume abetment.It further gave credence to the testimony of prosecution witness Manju, who described the assault on the deceased on the day of the incident. “The plaintiff also described the assault at approximately 4 p.m. on the day of the incident and the deceased being forced to die. Thus, the accused’s conduct is not merely a distant or recent incident, but part of a continuous pattern of harassment that continued until just before the suicide,” the court held while deciding to pronounce the accused guilty.
