Dying Declaration Termed Burns Accidental, Man Acquitted of Dowry Death After 22 Years: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has acquitted Bhanu Parkash, who had been convicted in a 1998 dowry death case, holding that the prosecution must first establish the basic ingredients of Section 304-B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 before the statutory presumption under Section 113-B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 can be applied against an accused. Justice Mandeep Pannu held that merely proving that a married woman died…