News Citation : 2026 LN (HC) 156 | 2026:CGHC:8246
February 16, 2026 : In a significant judgment delivered on February 16, 2026, the High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur upheld the conviction of a husband and his father in a dowry death case dating back to 2002, while modifying the sentence of the husband and sparing the elderly father-in-law from further imprisonment on humanitarian grounds.
The case arose from a tragic incident in November 2002, when a young married woman and her one-year-old daughter were found dead on a railway track between Hathband and Bhatapara. The prosecution alleged that the woman had been subjected to continuous harassment and cruelty over dowry demands, including repeated demands for Rs. 1 lakh and Rs. 12,000. According to the complaint filed by her father, she was physically assaulted by her husband, often under intoxication, and pressured for money even after the birth of her daughter.
Following investigation, both the husband, Yogesh Kosle, and his father, Adhar Das Kosle, were convicted by the trial court in 2005 under Section 304-B of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with dowry death. The trial court had sentenced the husband to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
Hearing the criminal appeals, Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas examined whether the essential ingredients of Section 304-B were satisfied. The Court noted that the death occurred within seven years of marriage and under abnormal circumstances. It further found consistent testimony from the victim’s father, brother and other witnesses regarding dowry demands and harassment soon before her death.
The Court relied on established Supreme Court precedents to interpret the phrase “soon before her death,” observing that cruelty need not occur immediately before death but must have a proximate link. In this case, the Court held that the chain of harassment over dowry demands remained live and unbroken until the incident.
While affirming the conviction of both appellants, the High Court modified the sentence of Yogesh Kosle, reducing it from 10 years to the statutory minimum of seven years under Section 304-B IPC. The Court noted that he had already spent several months in custody during trial and after conviction.
As for Adhar Das Kosle, now 87 years old, the Court invoked humanitarian considerations. Referring to recent Supreme Court guidance on advanced age and custodial hardship, the judge ruled that no meaningful purpose would be served by sending him back to prison. His conviction was maintained, but he was spared further incarceration.
The husband has been directed to surrender before the competent court within eight weeks to serve the remainder of his sentence, with the benefit of set-off under the law. The appeals were thus partly allowed. This judgment reinforces the legal position that sustained harassment linked to dowry demands, when connected closely in time to an unnatural death within seven years of marriage, attracts the statutory presumption of dowry death under Indian law.
Case Reference : CRA No. 282 of 2005 (Yogesh Kosle v. State of Chhattisgarh) connected with CRA No. 309 of 2005 (Adhar Das Kosle v. State of Chhattisgarh); Counsel for the Appellants: Dr. N.K. Shukla, Senior Advocate, with Ms. Riddhi Gupta and Mr. Dinesh Bole, Advocates; Counsel for the Respondent/State: Mr. Sanjeev Pandey, Deputy Advocate General, and Mr. Suresh Tandan, Panel Lawyer.
