Panchkula (Hry), Dec 17 (PTI) A special CBI court has acquitted a Haryana judicial officer and his parents in a dowry-death case dating back more than 12 years after his wife was found dead with bullet
injuries in Gurugram.
The court has acquitted Ravneet Garg, who was then the chief judicial magistrate of Gurugram, and his parents in the 2013 dowry-death case.
Garg’s wife, Geetanjali, was found dead in July 2013 near the Gurugram police lines area with bullet injuries.
Garg was posted as the Gurgaon CJM in July 2013.
Initially, the case was probed by the Haryana Police but it was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the family’s request.
In the chargesheet filed by the CBI in December 2016, Garg and his parents were charged with causing the woman’s death for dowry.
The case was registered by the Gurugram Police under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of the Arms Act.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Rajeev Goyal acquitted the three accused — Ravneet Garg, his parents K K Garg and Rachna Garg — of all the charges on Tuesday, their lawyer, Terminder Singh, said.
A detailed judgment is yet to be released.
The defence counsel said the CBI amended the charge under section 304B (dowry death) of the IPC at the time of filing the chargesheet and falsely implicated the accused.
He added that during the trial, the allegations of dowry demand and cruelty were proved to be false.
The defence also argued during the trial that there was no evidence of cruelty or discord in the marriage, and further contended that even on the day of her death, Geetanjali had spoken normally with her parents and made no complaint of harassment.
Singh said initially, a board of doctors had opined that Geetanjali was killed and subsequently, the charge of dowry death was brought against the accused by the CBI. PTI SUN VSD RC
