YASHODA vs STATE OF M.P. — Crl.A. No. 431/1997

Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction of appellants Yashoda and another (parents-in-law of deceased Gangabai) for offences under Sections 498A, 304B, and 201 IPC in a dowry death case. The Court found sufficient evidence of persistent dowry demands for gold ornaments, harassment, and cruelty inflicted on the deceased throughout her 4-year marriage, with the final demand made only 15 days before her death. The Court held that the suspicious circumstances of her sudden death, the appellants' failure to notify her parents, and the hasty nighttime cremation, combined with the proven course of cruelty-based dowry harassment, established the statutory presumption under Section 304B IPC, which the defence failed to rebut. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.