Delhi court acquits doctor of dowry death, cruelty charges

More than 10 years after a woman doctor committed suicide at AIIMS-Delhi, a court here has acquitted her husband, also a doctor, of causing her death with his demands for dowry.
The prosecution “miserably failed” to prove that the accused had harassed his wife, and that drove her to commit suicide, it said. Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Pahuja was hearing a case against Dr Paras Khanna. The Safdarjang Enclave police station had registered an FIR against him under sections 304 B (dowry death) and 498 A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the prosecution, Dr Varnika Khanna’s wife committed suicide in a hostel room at AIIMS in August 2013. The FIR was registered on the basis of the statement of her father, who said Varnika was harassed by her husband and her in-laws for dowry since their marriage in November 2012.
“The prosecution has miserably failed to prove on record that the deceased was harassed by the accused during her lifetime, which might have driven her to commit suicide,” the court said in a recent order.
“In view of the material inconsistencies in the testimony of the prosecution witnesses and due to the lack of cogent evidence, this court is of the view that the prosecution has miserably failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt,” it further said. The court added that the evidence on record entitled the accused to the benefit of doubt.
“Therefore, the accused, Paras Khanna, is hereby acquitted of the charges levelled against him in the present case,” it said. The court said the “circumstances appearing on record” did not indicate the accused’s guilt.