https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=188269 Section 304-B IPC creates a new substantive offence of dowry death with a higher minimum punishment and Court of Session trial, so it cannot be applied to a death that occurred before its insertion on 19.11.1986. The related section 113-B of the Evidence Act is only a rule of proof for that later offence and does not authorise retrospective prosecution. Applying section 304-B to an earlier death would give retrospective effect to a penal provision and expose the accused to greater punishment than was lawfully available when the act occurred, which is barred by Article 20(1) of the Constitution. The provision therefore could not be used to try or punish the respondents for dowry death in the present case. en-us Wed, 28 Aug 1991 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 23 Nov 2016 16:51:23 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=188269 Section 304-B IPC creates a new substantive offence of dowry death with a higher minimum punishment and Court of Session trial, so it cannot be applied to a death that occurred before its insertion on 19.11.1986. The related section 113-B of the Evidence Act is only a rule of proof for that later offence and does not authorise retrospective prosecution. Applying section 304-B to an earlier death would give retrospective effect to a penal provision and expose the accused to greater punishment than was lawfully available when the act occurred, which is barred by Article 20(1) of the Constitution. The provision therefore could not be used to try or punish the respondents for dowry death in the present case. Case-Laws Indian Laws Wed, 28 Aug 1991 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=188269