Summary
The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's reversal of the appellant's acquittal for murdering his wife by setting her on fire with kerosene, and for cruelty under Section 498A IPC. The conviction rested on four things: the eyewitness account of the couple's daughter; a dying declaration recorded by a police officer after the doctor certified the deceased as fit; the medical evidence; and the recovery of a kerosene tin and matchbox from the scene.
Issues
- Whether the High Court was justified in reversing the trial court's acquittal and convicting the appellant under Sections 302 and 498A IPC.
- Whether the dying declaration was reliable, given the severity of the burns, the sedation and the testimony of two witnesses that the deceased was unconscious.
- Whether the testimony of the minor daughter as an eyewitness could be relied upon.
Provisions considered
- Section 302, Indian Penal Code, 1860The appellant's life sentence for murder was affirmed. The Court held that the eyewitness testimony, the dying declaration, the medical evidence and the recovery together proved that he poured kerosene on his wife and set her on fire. (¶¶ 6, 21, 24)
- Section 498A, Indian Penal Code, 1860The appellant's conviction for cruelty by a husband was affirmed. There was evidence of repeated demands for money, quarrels, beating and ill-treatment of the wife. (¶¶ 9, 24)
- Section 379, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973The appeal was filed under this section, which gives a right of appeal against a High Court judgment that reverses an acquittal and convicts the accused. (¶ 6)
Held
- The deceased's daughter, aged about sixteen, was a consistent eyewitness. Nothing suggested any reason for her to falsely implicate her father, and her evidence proved that he brought kerosene, poured it on her mother and set her on fire. (¶¶ 10, 11)
- The dying declaration (Exhibit P-12) was recorded by a Head Constable with the permission of the doctor on duty, who certified on it that the deceased was fit to make a statement. With no material to cast doubt on how it was recorded or on her condition, there was no reason to disbelieve it. That no nurse was present did not undermine it. (¶¶ 14, 15, 16, 18, 19)
- The burns were extensive but superficial, and the deceased was conscious most of the time even if sedation made her unconscious at moments. The treating doctors' evidence therefore prevailed over the oral evidence of the person who took her to hospital and of the investigating officer that she could not speak. (¶¶ 19, 23)
- Evidence of repeated demands for money and ill-treatment established both a motive and cruelty. (¶ 9)
- The recovery of a kerosene tin, a matchbox and burnt cloth from the scene, proved through a neighbour who signed the mahazar, corroborated the eyewitness and the dying declaration. Together these proved the appellant's guilt, and the trial court was not justified in acquitting him on minor discrepancies. (¶¶ 20, 21, 22, 23)
Result
Appeal dismissed. The convictions under Sections 302 and 498A IPC and the sentences imposed by the High Court are affirmed. The appellant, who was on bail, is directed to surrender forthwith to serve the remainder of his sentence.