A Delhi court has acquitted Kartik Sharma and his parents, Ravi Dutt Sharma and Veena Sharma, in the dowry death case of Shivali Sharma, who died by suicide in March 2023. The court, presided over by Additional Sessions Judge Deepak Wason, stated that the prosecution did not provide sufficient evidence to support claims of cruelty or dowry harassment. While the court acknowledged that Shivali's death was unnatural and occurred within seven years of marriage, it emphasized that key elements necessary to establish a dowry death under Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) were unproven. Testimonies from Shivali's family indicated she was living a 'peaceful and happy' married life, contradicting allegations of harassment related to dowry demands. The court highlighted that the medical evidence confirmed death by asphyxia due to hanging, but this alone was not enough to implicate the accused without corroborative evidence of cruelty.