Case Note & Summary
The appellant, Bhimrao Baban Shinde, was convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 for the murder of his wife, Ujwala, by pouring kerosene on her and setting her on fire. The incident occurred on March 11, 2006, at their residence in Yeliv, Maharashtra. The appellant, who was addicted to liquor and suspected his wife of having an affair, came home intoxicated, abused her, and after a quarrel, poured kerosene from a stove on her and ignited it with a matchstick. Their minor son Akshay extinguished the fire and informed his maternal grandmother, Kantabai (PW2), who arrived and took Ujwala to the hospital. Ujwala made an oral dying declaration to her mother and a written dying declaration to Police Constable Ramesh Shitole (PW5), both stating that her husband had set her on fire. She succumbed to her injuries on March 14, 2006. The trial court convicted the appellant based on the dying declarations and circumstantial evidence. On appeal, the Bombay High Court examined the reliability of the dying declarations, noting that they were consistent, voluntary, and corroborated by medical evidence showing 100% burns. The court also considered the appellant's conduct, including his history of assault and his absence after the incident. The court held that the dying declaration was trustworthy and could form the sole basis for conviction. The appeal was dismissed, and the conviction and sentence of life imprisonment were upheld.
Headnote
A) Criminal Law - Murder - Dying Declaration - Section 32 of Indian Evidence Act, 1872 - Conviction based on dying declaration - The deceased Ujwala, in her dying declaration recorded by a police constable and also orally made to her mother, stated that her husband poured kerosene on her and set her on fire. The court held that the dying declaration was voluntary, consistent, and corroborated by medical evidence and other circumstances, and thus sufficient to sustain conviction under Section 302 IPC (Paras 1-10). B) Criminal Law - Murder - Circumstantial Evidence - Section 302 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Motive and conduct - The appellant had a history of assaulting the deceased due to suspicion of infidelity and was intoxicated at the time of incident. The court held that the chain of circumstances, including the dying declaration, the presence of the appellant at the scene, and his subsequent abscondence, completed the chain of guilt (Paras 2-12).
Issue of Consideration
Whether the conviction of the appellant under Section 302 IPC based on the dying declaration of the deceased and circumstantial evidence is sustainable.
Final Decision
The appeal is dismissed. The conviction and sentence of the appellant under Section 302 IPC are upheld.
Law Points
- Dying declaration can be sole basis of conviction if it is reliable and inspires confidence
- Section 32 of Indian Evidence Act
- 1872
- Section 302 of Indian Penal Code
- 1860
