Allahabad HC quashes man's plea challenging order in 'live-in' partner's dowry death case
Prayagraj (PTI): The Allahabad High Court has observed that for an offence of dowry demand or in case of dowry death, it is sufficient to show that the victim woman and the accused man were "residing as husband and wife at the relevant point of time".
Justice Raj Beer Singh made the observation while dismissing a petition challenging a Prayagraj sessions court order that rejected an applicant's plea for discharge in a dowry death case. The petitioner was allegedly in a live-in relationship with the deceased woman.
The petition submitted that the impugned order is against facts and law, and therefore liable to be set aside.
The applicant's counsel claimed that the deceased woman was married to one Rohit Yadav and that there is no credible evidence that she obtained divorce from him.
The woman later entered a live-in relationship with the accused, and they did not get married, the plea claimed.
In view of these facts, the counsel said, it cannot be said the deceased was legally married to the applicant, and therefore no prima facie case under Section 304-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) can be made out.
However, the additional government advocate opposed the application, saying the FIR mentioned that after marriage to Rohit Yadav, the woman was divorced by him. She later married the applicant in court and there are allegations that the deceased was harassed by the accused on account of dowry.
Dismissing the plea, the high court bench said, "In order to attract provisions of Sections 304-B and 498-A of the IPC, it is sufficient to show that the victim woman and the accused man were residing as husband and wife at the relevant point of time."
"In the instant case, even if it is assumed for the sake of arguments that the deceased didn't fall within the ambit of a legally-wedded wife, there is ample evidence on record that the applicant and the deceased were residing together as husband and wife at the relevant point of time."
The government counsel said the victim woman committed suicide on the premises of the accused.
Whether the marriage between the deceased and the applicant was lawful is a question of fact that can only be examined during trial, the advocate added.
"In view of the aforesaid facts, the contention raised on behalf of the applicant that provisions under Section 304 of the IPC are not attracted has no force," the high court noted.
"The perusal of the impugned order shows that the trial court considered all relevant facts of the matter and the application filed by the applicant for discharge was rejected by a reasoned order," it added.
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'Low-quality' catheters supplied to West Bengal govt hospitals at high price, probe ordered
Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal health department has launched a probe into the supplies of allegedly low-quality and locally made catheters at a high price to several government hospitals, posing a risk to the lives of patients undergoing treatment in these facilities, officials said.
Such central venous catheters (CVCs) were allegedly supplied to at least five medical colleges and hospitals in the state, defying allocation of international standard-compliant CVCs, they said.
The distribution company, which has been accused of supplying these catheters to government hospitals, admitted to the fault but placed the blame on its employees.
"We started checking stocks some time back and found these locally made CVCs in my hospital store. These catheters are of low quality as compared to those allocated by the state. We have informed the state health department," a senior official of the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital told PTI.
Low-quality catheters were also found in the stores of other hospitals, which indicates "possible involvement of insiders in the scam", a health department official said.
The low-quality CVCs were supplied by a distributor in the Hatibagan area in the northern part of Kolkata for the last three to four months, he said.
"Such kinds of local CVCs are priced around Rs 1,500 but the distributor took Rs 4,177 for each device," the official said.
A CVC is a thin and flexible tube that is inserted into a vein to allow for the administration of fluids, blood, and other treatment. It's also clinically called a central line catheter.
"An initial probe revealed that the distribution company Prakash Surgical had supplied the low-quality and locally manufactured catheters to several government hospitals instead of the CVCs of the government-designated international company.
"All the units will be tested and a proper investigation is on to find out who benefited from these supplies," the health department official said.
The distribution company blamed its employees for the supply of inferior quality catheters.
"I was sick for a few months. Some employees of the organisation made this mistake. We are taking back all those units that have gone to the hospitals. It's all about misunderstanding," an official of the distribution company told PTI.
According to another state health department official, a complaint was lodged with the police in this connection.
Asked about how many patients were affected by the usage of such low-quality CVCs, the official said, "The probe would also try to find that out".
According to sources in the health department, some of the staff of the hospitals' equipment receiving departments and some local officials of international organisations might be involved in the alleged irregularities.
