The Kollam Additional Sessions Court will pronounce the verdict on the Vismaya case on May 23.
The 24-year-old BAMS student was found dead on June 21, 2021 and as per a chargesheet, she had ended her life due to constant harassment over dowry. The trial of the case was completed this month and the verdict will be pronounced next Monday, within one year of her death.
Vismaya’s husband Kiran Kumar has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including 304 (B), 498 (A) , 306, 323 and 506 for dowry death, inflicting physical or mental harm, abetment of suicide, voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation.
He was also charged with the relevant sections of the Dowry Prohibition Act. G. Mohanraj, who earlier appeared in the controversial Uthra murder case, is the special public prosecutor. The prosecution had presented 42 witnesses, 120 documents and 12 exhibits.
The prosecution had argued that Vismaya’s husband Kiran Kumar believed in the system of dowry and pressurised his wife stating he, a government employee, deserved more. The conversations recorded on the memory card of Kiran’s phone had pointed to this fact. He had demanded a particular model before the wedding and was not happy with the car Vismaya’s family gifted. During the trial, prosecution presented this conversation to prove that he demanded dowry. Based on the conversations recorded on the phones of Kiran Kumar, Vismaya’s mother and her childhood friend Vidya, it was argued that the girl was subjected to constant dowry harassment and domestic violence.
The police had retrieved a lot of digital evidence that included WhatsApp chats, pictures and videos showing injuries and other messages during investigation. The defence counsel argued that Vismaya was trying to gain sympathy by accusing her husband and there was no serious issue between the couple. It was also argued that she committed suicide due to other reasons, and not dowry harassment. The defence counsel had presented two witnesses and 40 documents.
