the prosecution is that appellant No 1, the father-in-law (now dead) of Manju Devi came to complainant’s/informant’s house on 20.01.1983 informing the informant, the father of Manju Devi, that she had had a quarrel with her mother-in-law and left the house in anger. He had come searching for her. The only other evidence is that the informant says that while searching, on one day, he had overheard some ladies gossip that they had heard the shouting of Manju Devi on the night of the fateful day from the house. There is no further evidence brought on record by the prosecution. We failed to understand how on this evidence, there could be a charge of Section 364 of IPC at all. Where was the question of kidnapping or abduction? Even, as per prosecution case, the girl Manju Devi was living in her sasural. Where is the question of forcibly carrying her or enticing her much less from her home? What are the facts to establish intention to kill? At best, it was a case where Manju Devi disappeared but the defence is itself in the complaint wherein it is admitted that appellant No 1, the father-in-law had come to the informant searching for the daughter-inlaw and had disclosed at the very first instance that she had a quarrel with her mother-in-law and ran away from the house. We find it curious that neither the mother-in-law nor the husband have been made parties in the proceeding. Because, the story set up was that the husband did not take the girl because he was demanding dowry. The
