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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
B.R. GAVAI, SANDEEP MEHTA, JJ.
Naeem - Appellant
Versus
State of Uttar Pradesh - Respondent
Criminal Appeal No. 1978 of 2022 With Criminal Appeal No. 1979 of 2022
Decided On : 05-03-2024
(A) Indian Evidence Act, 1872 – Section 32 – Dying declaration – Dying declaration can be sole basis of conviction if it inspires full confidence of court – Court is required to satisfy itself that deceased was in a fit state of mind at the time of making the statement and that it was not result of tutoring, prompting or imagination – There cannot be an absolute rule of law that dying declaration cannot form sole basis of conviction unless it is corroborated – Rule requiring corroboration is merely a rule of prudence – If after careful scrutiny, court is satisfied that it is true and free from any effort to induce deceased to make a false statement and if it is coherent and consistent, there shall be no legal impediment to make it basis of conviction, even if there is no corroboration. (Para 7)
(B) Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Section 302 – Murder – Conviction and sentence – Conviction is based solely on dying declaration – Deceased was fully conscious while giving statement – Material placed on record would reveal that deceased was in a fit state of mind at the time of making statement and that it was not result of tutoring, prompting or imagination – Dying declaration is coherent and consistent and as such, there should be no legal impediment to make it basis of conviction without there being any independent corroboration – Role of pouring kerosene on victim and setting her ablaze is also attributed to accused No. 1 – In absence of any specific role attributed to accused No. 2 and accused No. 3, they are entitled to benefit of doubt – Conviction and sentence partly affirmed. (Paras 7, 10, 11,12, 13, 14, 15 and 16)
Facts of the case:
Present appeals challenge the judgment and order dated 17th December 2019, passed by Division Bench of High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Criminal Appeal Nos. 1589 of 2018 and 7393 of 2017, whereby the Division Bench dismissed both the criminal appeals preferred by appellants, namely, Pappi @ Mashkoor (accused No.1), Naeema (accused No.2) and Naeem (accused No.3) and upheld order of conviction and sentence dated 24th October 2017 as recorded by Trial Court in Sessions Trial No. 260 of 2017.
Findings of Court:
Criminal Appeal No. 1978 of 2022 qua appellant Naeem and Criminal Appeal No. 1979 of 2022 qua appellant Naeema are allowed. Order of conviction and sentence dated 24th October 2017 passed by trial court and maintained by High Court vide impugned judgment and order dated 17th December 2019 in respect of appellants is quashed and set aside. They are acquitted of all charges charged with and are directed to be released forthwith if not required in any other case. Criminal Appeal No. 1979 of 2022 qua appellant Pappi @ Mashkoor is dismissed.
Result : Criminal Appeals partly dismissed.
JUDGMENT :
B.R. Gavai, J.
1. These appeals challenge the judgment and order dated 17th December 2019, passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Criminal Appeal Nos. 1589 of 2018 and 7393 of 2017, whereby the Division Bench dismissed both the criminal appeals preferred by the appellants, namely, Pappi @ Mashkoor (accused No.1), Naeema (accused No.2) and Naeem (accused No.3) and upheld the order of conviction and sentence dated 24th October 2017 as recorded by the learned Sessions Judge, Moradabad (hereinafter referred to as the ‘trial court’) in Sessions Trial No. 260 of 2017.
2. Shorn of details, the facts leading to the present appeals are as under:
2.1. On 1st December 2016, the Police Station Katghar, District Moradabad received a written report at 08:15 pm which was a transcription of the complaint made by Shahin Parveen (deceased) who had been admitted in the District Hospital, Moradabad on 1st December 2016, at 02:20 pm with 80% deep thermal and facial burns. In her complaint, the deceased had alleged that she had been set ablaze by the accused/appellants who had been pressuring her into entering the profession of immoral trafficking and prostitution. On the basis of the written report (Ext. Ka-3), a First Information Report (“FIR” for short) was registered at Police Station Katghar, District Moradabad vide Case Crime Number 1332 of 2016 for the offence punishable under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as “IPC”). On the same day, Raj Kumar Bhaskar (PW-5), the then Naib Tehsildar, Sadar, Moradabad was telephonically summoned by the Tehsildar to record the statement of Shahin Parveen (deceased), after she was admitted in the hospital. Between the hours of 08:48 pm and 09:15 pm, dying declaration of Shahin Parveen (deceased) (Ext. Ka-6) came to be recorded by PW-5. Subsequently, the victim was admitted in Safdarjang Hospital, New Delhi on 2nd December 2016, where she eventually succumbed to her injuries at 07:55 pm. Consequently, the Case Crime No. 1332 of 2016 was altered to the offence punishable under Section 302 of IPC. According to the Post-Mortem Report (Ext. Ka-11), the cause of death was shock as a result of ante-mortem burn injuries.
2.2. After the death of the husband of the deceased two years prior to the incident, she had been residing at her matrimonial house with her two children along with Pappi @ Mashkoor (accused No. 1) who was her brother-in-law (devar) and his wife Naeema (accused No.2). Naeem (accused No.3) is Naeema’s brother. The prosecution case is that, after the death of the husband of the deceased, the accused/appellants started pressuring her into entering the profession of immoral trafficking and prostitution. As the deceased did not concede to the same, she was physically and sexually assaulted and asked to vacate the house. On the day of the incident at about 01:30 pm, the accused/appellants caught hold of the deceased and poured kerosene on her. Pappi @ Mashkoor (accused No.1) and Naeema (accused No.2) ignited the matchstick and threw it at her. Thereafter, the accused/appellants surrounded her so that she could not escape. On being set ablaze, the deceased ran out of the house whereafter her neighbours put out the fire and informed her mother and brother namely, Islam @ Babli (PW-2) who took her to the hospital. This version of events was brought out in the complaint made by the deceased which was transcribed by Faisal Zamal (PW-3). On the basis of PW-3’s written report, bearing the thumb impression of the deceased, the FIR came to be registered at 08:15 pm on 1st December 2016. Thereafter, on the same day, between 08:48 pm and 09:15 pm, PW-5 recorded the dying declaration of the deceased (Ext. Ka-6) wherein she stated that there was an outstanding dispute between her and Pappi @ Mashkoor (accused No.1) with regards to the partition of their shared residence. On the date of the incident at about 12:30 pm, another quarrel broke o
Dying declaration can be sole basis of conviction if it inspires full confidence of court.
Reliability of dying declaration as the sole basis for conviction and the requirement of specific role attribution to each accused in the dying declaration.
Dying declarations can serve as the sole basis for conviction if they are consistent and credible; however, inconsistencies and lack of corroborative evidence can lead to reasonable doubt and acquitt....
Dying declarations can serve as the sole basis for conviction if they are proven to be reliable, but lack of corroboration or inconsistencies can lead to acquittal.
The central legal point established in the judgment is the requirement for a dying declaration to be true, voluntary, and inspiring confidence, and the need to consider corroborative evidence when re....
[A dying declaration can serve as the sole basis for conviction if it is found to be voluntary, coherent, and made in a fit mental state, even in the presence of minor inconsistencies.]
Dying declarations can be the sole basis for conviction if credible, but inconsistencies and the circumstances of their recording can undermine their reliability.
The reliability and evidentiary value of dying declarations, and the application of settled legal principles in determining their credibility.
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