Case Note & Summary
The appeal before the High Court of Judicature at Bombay arose from the conviction of the appellant for the murder of his wife under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. The appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine by the Sessions Judge, Pune. The prosecution case was that the appellant, who was married to the deceased Jayshree for seven years, suspected her character and wanted to cohabit with his first wife Sarika. On 21st January 2011, after an argument over missed calls, the appellant beat Jayshree, poured kerosene on her, and set her ablaze with a burning matchstick. She sustained 51% burn injuries and died on 26th January 2011 during treatment. The prosecution relied on two written dying declarations recorded by police officers and oral dying declarations made to relatives. The appellant denied the charges and contended that he was falsely implicated; he challenged the reliability of the dying declarations, the delay in lodging the FIR, and the alleged motive. The respondent State argued that the dying declarations were consistent and supported by medical evidence and the spot panchnama. The Court examined the evidence of the spot panchnama, postmortem report, and the dying declarations. The spot panchnama revealed a plastic can with kerosene and half-burnt matchsticks at the scene. The postmortem confirmed 51% antemortem burn injuries, with shock due to burns as the cause of death. The first dying declaration was recorded by Police Head Constable Dhananjay Sawant at the hospital after the doctor certified the patient as fit to give a statement; the second was recorded by PSI Ranjeet Bhoite later. The appellant's counsel argued that the dying declarations were tutored and the delay in FIR was unexplained. The court's analysis of the evidence was not completed in the provided text; therefore, the final decision and ratio decidendi are not available.
Issue of Consideration
Whether the conviction of the appellant under Section 302 IPC is sustainable based on the evidence of dying declarations and other circumstances.
Case Details
2018 LawText (BOM) (10) 97
Criminal Appeal No.723 of 2013
S.S. Shinde, A.S. Gadkari
V.B. Shivarkar for Appellant, M.H. Mhatre for Respondent
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Nature of Litigation
Criminal appeal against conviction under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
Remedy Sought
Appellant seeks acquittal, challenging the conviction and sentence imposed by the trial court.
Filing Reason
Appellant claims false implication; challenges the reliability of dying declarations, delay in lodging FIR, and absence of motive.
Previous Decisions
The Additional Sessions Judge, Pune, in Sessions Case No.317 of 2011, convicted the appellant under Section 302 IPC and sentenced him to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs.100/-.
Issues
Whether the dying declarations recorded by Police Head Constable and PSI were reliable and free from tutoring?
Whether the delay of three days in lodging the FIR was fatal to the prosecution case?
Whether the evidence of motive and the spot panchnama corroborated the prosecution case?
Whether the conviction under Section 302 IPC was sustainable?
Submissions/Arguments
Appellant argued that he was falsely implicated, the dying declarations were tutored, there was inordinate delay in lodging the FIR, the spot panchnama did not indicate any scuffle, and his attempt to extinguish the fire and shift the deceased to hospital indicated absence of intention to murder.
Respondent State contended that the two dying declarations recorded by police officers were consistent and trustworthy, oral dying declarations to relatives further corroborated the case, and the medical evidence supported the prosecution's version.
Judgment Excerpts
Jayshree told him that her husband Suraj Jadhav had poured kerosene on her person and set her ablaze by burning match stick.
The spot panchnama shows that the spot of the incident is the house of the Appellant, consisting of two rooms. ... One plastic Can without cover, containing ½ liter kerosene was also seen on the spot of incident.
On external examination they found ... superficial to deep burns ... total 51%. ... cause of death was 'shock due to burns'.
Procedural History
On 21st January 2011, the incident took place. On 22nd January 2011, the first dying declaration was recorded by Police Head Constable at Sasoon Hospital. On 24th January 2011, the FIR was lodged by the brother of the deceased. On 25th January 2011, the second dying declaration was recorded by PSI. On 26th January 2011, Jayshree succumbed to her injuries. Postmortem was conducted on 27th January 2011. The trial court framed charges under Sections 302 and 498A IPC. The accused pleaded not guilty. After trial, the Sessions Judge convicted the appellant under Section 302 IPC and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The appellant filed Criminal Appeal No.723 of 2013 before the High Court. The appeal was heard on 9th October 2018.
Acts & Sections
- Indian Penal Code, 1860: 302, 307, 323, 504, 506, 498A
