Dowry death conviction requires notice of Section 304-B charge and chance to rebut the statutory presumption.

An accused charged with murder under Section 302 cannot be convicted for dowry death under Section 304-B unless that offence is specifically in issue or the charge defect causes no failure of justice. Section 304-B is a distinct offence and is not treated as a minor offence for Section 222 CrPC. Because dowry death carries the statutory presumption under Section 113-B of the Evidence Act, the accused must have notice of that shifted burden and an opportunity to meet the ingredients of the offence with defence evidence before conviction can be recorded. In the stated analysis, conviction under Section 304-B was set aside and the matter remanded for fresh consideration from the defence evidence stage.

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Issues: Whether an accused charged with murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 can be convicted under Section 304-B of that Code without that offence being included in the charge, and without giving the accused an opportunity to meet the statutory presumption attached to that offence.

Analysis: Section 304-B creates an offence of a distinct character from murder and cannot be treated as a minor offence for the purpose of Section 222 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. A conviction for an uncharged offence may be sustained only if the error in charge has not occasioned a failure of justice under Section 464 of the Code. The offence of dowry death carries a statutory presumption under Section 113-B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, which shifts the burden on the accused to rebut the presumption. An accused who has defended only a charge under Section 302 is not on notice of that shifted burden and must be given an opportunity to lead defence evidence on the ingredients of Section 304-B and the presumption under Section 113-B before conviction can be recorded.

Conclusion: The accused could not validly be convicted under Section 304-B without being afforded that opportunity; the conviction and sentence were set aside and the matter was remanded to the trial court for fresh consideration from the stage of defence evidence.

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