In Dr. G.M. Natarajan v. State, the Supreme Court considered a case in which a woman, harassed by her husband and in-laws for additional dowry, committed suicide by jumping into a well with her infant daughter within seven years of marriage. The trial court had acquitted the accused for lack of evidence.
In this case, the petitioner, convicted under the Dowry Prohibition Act, argued that the testimony of witnesses who were all related to the complainant was insufficient to prove his participation in a demand for dowry. The Court held that such testimony is sufficient to sustain a conviction if credible, and that once evidence of a dowry demand is presented, the burden shifts to the accused to prove that they did not participate, such as by establishing an alibi.
In this case, a woman's in-laws repeatedly demanded additional gifts from her. As a result of this harassment, the woman committed suicide. The Court defined dowry as any demand for money, property, or valuable security made directly or indirectly in connection with marriage.
A woman committed suicide by hanging herself after being mistreated and abused by her husband, being subject to complaints about her dowry and held responsible for the death of her father-in-law because of her "evil luck" by her in-laws, and being subjected to other mental torture. In an action against the woman's husband and mother-in-law, the lower court had found insufficient evidence of systematic cruelty or physical or mental torture to sustain a conviction under 498 A of the Indian Penal Code, which provides that a relative of a woman that subjects that woman to cruelty may be i
