HC upholds acquittal of man in dowry death case

New Delhi, July 21 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Monday dismissed a man's appeal against the acquittal of his son-in-law, who allegedly killed his daughter 20 years ago over dowry.

The court upheld a trial court's order of acquitting Jaspal Singh Narula, saying no evidence of dowry harassment has emerged against him in the case.

A division bench of justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Mukta Gupta said the cause of death of Narula's wife Manjit Kaur, with reference to the evidence on record, has been correctly opined to be "accidental" by the trial court.

A father's "loss of a daughter can be felt by us. But our sympathy for the grieving father cannot be the cause to overturn the verdict of not guilty return by the trial Judge in a well considered judgment", said the bench.

Prosecution said Narula and Manjit Kaur got married in 1982. Manjit Kaur died in 1994 after an iron rod had pierced five inches deep into her eye while she was cleaning their home. The rod which reached her brain resulted in her death.

Mahender Singh Chhabra, who challenged the March 31 order of the trial court acquitting Narula, had alleged that her daughter Manjit Kaur was harassed for dowry and she had been murdered by her husband.

The bench, refuting Chhabra's claim, said there was no evidence that Manjit Kaur's husband and in-laws were present in the house when the unfortunate incident took place.