MAIN POINT
Three dying declarations, all consistently accusing the respondent, conviction can be based thereon.

JUDGMENT :

Pinaki Chandra Ghose, J.

1. These appeals have been directed against the judgment and order dated 19th March, 2012 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Bench at Aurangabad, in Confirmation Case No.1 of 2011 with Criminal Appeal No.584 of 2011, whereby the conviction order dated 22nd September, 2011 passed by learned District Judge-3 and Additional Sessions Judge, Shrirampur, against the respondent herein was quashed and set-aside. The Confirmation Case No.1 of 2011 was filed by the State for confirmation of the death sentence awarded to the accused respondent. The High Court, however, rejected the death sentence and acquitted the accused respondent.

2. The brief facts leading to present criminal appeals may be summarized as follows:-

Respondent Nisar Ramzan Sayyed got married with one Summayya (deceased herein) on 30.03.2007. After the marriage they were jointly living with the respondent’s family and were blessed with a male child, namely Sayej who was three years old on the fateful day of incident. The deceased was seven months pregnant at the time of the incident. The respondent and his family members treated Summayya well for a period of one year after the marriage. Thereafter, the respondent started ill-treating her on the pretext of demand of Rs.50,000/- for purchasing an auto rickshaw. As the financial condition of the father of Summayya was poor, the said demand could not be met. The respondent continued the act of ill-treatment with the deceased. On 29th October, 2010 at 5:00 a.m. the respondent herein allegedly set the deceased on fire by pouring kerosene oil and also threw the son (Sayej) on the burning body of the deceased. Summayya and her son sustained burn injuries. Thereafter the deceased was taken to the hospital by the respondent but her son died on the spot due to burn injuries. The deceased succumbed to her injuries on 3rd November, 2010 after giving birth to a dead baby fetus.

3. Law was set into motion against the respondent and his family members when FIR No.I-227 of 2010 was lodged at Police Station Newasa at the instance of one Nisar Ashraf Pathan after registration of report AD No.91 of 2010 under Section 174 of Code of Criminal Procedure. Learned Additional Sessions Judge while taking cognizance on the basis of charge-sheet No.12 of 2011 received on 27.01.2011 initiated Sessions Case No.18 of 2011 and vide his judgment and order dated 22nd September, 2011 convicted the respondent herein for the offence punishable under Sections 302 and 498-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and sentenced him to suffer death sentence and pay a fine of Rs.2000/-. Five other accused who were family members of the respondent were, however, acquitted from all the charges.

4. The respondent herein preferred Criminal Appeal No.584 of 2011 before the High Court against the above-noted conviction order and the State of Maharashtra filed Confirmation Case No.1 of 2011 for confirmation of the death sentence awarded to the respondent by the Trial Court. The High Court vide impugned judgment quashed and set-aside the conviction order passed against the respondent herein and consequently, the death sentence confirmation case was dismissed. Hence, the present appeals before us by the State of Maharashtra.

5. We have heard the learned counsel on both sides. On a perusal of the judgments passed by the High Court and the Trial Court, we find that in the present case there is no eye-witness of the incident and the prosecution has been totally depending upon the dying declarations of the deceased, namely, Summayya. There are three written and three oral dying declarations. Since there is no direct evidence but only dying declarations of the deceased and proof proffered by the prosecution, tested by the conventional process of cross-examination and the standard yardsticks of credibility, we confine ourselves to the contentious issue of acquittal order and its legality.

6. From a perusal of the records of the Courts below, w