Rakesh Chand & Anr vs State Of Punjab

The Supreme Court held that for a conviction under Section 304B IPC, the demand for dowry must be made soon before the death of the deceased. The Court found that the only demand attributed to the appellants was from the year 2000, which did not meet the requisite temporal proximity to the death of Neelam Kumari. Consequently, the Court set aside the convictions under Section 304B IPC and Section 201 IPC, ordering the acquittal of the appellants due to lack of sufficient evidence.