New Delhi, April 1: The Supreme Court has said courts can presume that a husband and his family members caused the death of a woman for dowry if it occurs within seven years of marriage.

The apex court made the observation while upholding the conviction of a man for harassing his wife to death for more dowry, though he claimed she died of rheumatic pain.

The apex court said in cases of dowry death, it was for the accused to prove that he or his family members had not caused the victim’s death as otherwise courts can draw an inference of their guilt from provisions under Section 113B of the Indian Evidence Act.

Under Section 113B of the IE Act, courts can presume the accused is guilty in a dowry death that happens within seven years of marriage, if the circumstances brought forth by the prosecution are convincing enough to establish the alleged act of the perpetrators.

A bench of Justices A.K. Patnaik and S.J. Mukhopadhyaya passed the recent judgment while dismissing the appeal filed by Satya Pal challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s decision to reverse the acquittal order passed by the trial court.

The high court had instead convicted him for causing the death of his wife Rajwanti on July 12, 1992. The prosecution had said the accused had pushed his wife into a well after she refused to meet his demands for a cooler, TV and a refrigerator over and above the items that were given to the couple at the time of their marriage. She died within two years of her marriage. The trial court had in 2006 acquitted the husband on the ground that the FIR was lodged 51 hours after the incident.