Point of Law: Dying declaration - Corroboration from the oral dying declarations made by the deceased, coupled with the evidence of Doctor.

JUDGMENT :

C.Praveen Kumar, J.

1. Sole accused in Sessions Case No.186 of 2013 on the file of the VII Additional Sessions Judge, SPSR Nellore District at Gudur is the appellant herein. He was tried for the offences punishable under Sections 498A and 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) for subjecting his wife by name Puttamma to cruelty and causing her death on 14.04.2012. Vide judgment dated 16.07.2015, the learned Sessions Judge convicted the accused under both the counts and sentenced him to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay fine of Rs.2,000/- in default to suffer simple imprisonment for a period of six months for the offence punishable under Section 302 IPC and to suffer rigorous imprisonment for three years and to pay fine of Rs.1,000/- in default to suffer simple imprisonment for a period of two months for the offence punishable under Section 498A IPC. The substantive sentences were directed to run concurrently. Assailing the same, the present Criminal Appeal is filed.

2. The facts, as revealed from the evidence of prosecution witnesses, are as under.

P.Ws.8 and 9 are sisters of the deceased Puttamma, while the accused is the husband of the deceased. Marriage of the accused with the deceased took place about 12 years prior to the date of the incident. They were blessed with two female children and both of them were studying at the time of the incident. The deceased was working as an Anganwadi Teacher at Yachavaram, while the accused was a mason. It is stated that the accused used to harass the deceased right from the beginning and he was also addicted to alcohol. Some criminal cases were filed against the accused by the deceased, which, however, ended in a compromise. Even thereafter, the accused used to beat the deceased. While things stood thus, on 14.04.2012 at about 1.00 or 1.30 PM, there was some noise from the house of the accused, which made P.W.3, P.W.7 and others run towards the house of the deceased. On reaching there, they noticed the doors of the house closed and the accused was standing in front of the western side door of the house. He was raising alarm stating that his wife was burnt. Out of the two doors, one door was locked from inside while the other door was locked from outside. Western side door which was locked from inside was broke open with the help of a crow bar by the villagers. On entering the house, the neighbours found the deceased with burn injuries. The accused, who was there at that time, left that place. Immediately, information about the incident was given to P.Ws. 1, 2 and others. The people who gathered there, more particularly family members of the deceased, except the husband, shifted the injured to Gudur Hospital in an Ambulance.

P.W.14, who was working as Head Constable of I Town Police Station, Gudur, received intimation about the admission of the injured in the Government Hospital, Gudur. Ex.P11 is the said intimation. On receipt of the said intimation, he proceeded to the hospital and recorded the statement of the deceased, which was also endorsed by P.W.16-Doctor, who was present at the time of the recording the statement. Ex.P12 is the said statement. The same was informed to Manubolu police station on the point of jurisdiction. From Gudur Hospital, the injured was shifted to Narayana Hospital, Nellore, where she died by 5.00 PM.

Basing on Ex.P12, P.W.15-Head Constable of Manubolu police station registered a case in crime No.55 of 2012 for the offences punishable under Sections 498A and 307 IPC. Ex.P13 is the F.I.R. After receiving death intimation from the hospital, which is marked as Ex.P14, he altered the section of law to one under Section 302 IPC. Ex.P15 is the altered F.I.R.

P.W.18, Inspector of Police, took up further investigation in the matter. On receipt of the altered F.I.R., he proceeded to Narayana General Hospital, Nellore and recorded statements of P.Ws.1 to 3. From there, he, along with his staff, went to the scene of occurrence and prepared panchanama of the