B.R. Gavai, J.

1. Being aggrieved by the judgment and order passed by the learned Ad-hoc Additional Sessions Judge, Amravati dated 17.8.2010 in Sessions Trial No. 35/08, thereby convicting the appellants for the offence punishable under Sections 302 & 342 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing them under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code to suffer R.I. for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/- and in default, to suffer further R.I. for six months, and sentencing them under Section 342 of the Indian Penal Code to suffer R.I. for three months and to pay a fine of Rs. 500/- and in default, to suffer further R.I. for 15 days, the appellants have approached this Court. The prosecution story, in brief, as could be gathered from the material placed on record is as under:--

On 5.11.2007 the Police Station Rajapeth received a telephonic information that two persons were apprehended in Kanha Apartment at Badnera Road, Amravati. On receipt of the information, the police personnel from the Rajapeth Police Station went to the spot. They received the information that one person was set on fire in one room of the Kanha Apartment. The police party apprehended two persons who were caught by the persons at that place. The police party entered into the said room at Kanha Apartment. They saw that both the hands and legs of the person in the room were tied by rope. PW. 8 Ganesh Kale, Head Constable untied his hands and legs. The person was sent to Irwin Hospital. In the hospital, the dying declaration of the said person whose name was disclosed as Premkumar Joshi came to be recorded. On the basis of the said report, a FIR came to be registered initially for the offence punishable under Section 307 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. The deceased succumbed to the injuries. As such, an offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code also came to be added. On the basis of the FIR, the investigation was set in motion. At the conclusion of investigation, a charge-sheet came to be filed against four accused persons including the son of the deceased in the Court of J.M.F.C., Amravati. Since the case was exclusively triable by the learned Sessions Court, the same came to the committed to the Court of learned Sessions Judge, Amravati. The learned trial Judge framed the charges against four accused persons. All the accused pleaded "not guilty" and claimed to be tried. At the conclusion of the trial, the learned trial Judge recorded the order of conviction and sentence against the present appellants as aforesaid. However, the other two accused came to be acquitted. Being aggrieved by the order of conviction and sentence, the present appeals have been filed by the appellants.

2. The learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the appellants, submit that the learned trial Judge has grossly erred in convicting the appellants. It is submitted that the conviction is only on the basis of the dying declaration. It is, however, submitted that the said dying declaration is full of lacunae. It is further submitted that the names in the dying declaration do not tally with the actual names of the accused persons. It is, therefore, submitted that the appeals deserve to be allowed and the accused/appellants deserve to be acquitted.

3. As against this, the learned A.P.P. submits that the accused were apprehended near the spot of the occurrence. It is further submitted that the accused persons have sustained burn injuries which are not explained by them. It is, therefore, submitted that the prosecution has proved the circumstances beyond reasonable doubt and as such, the appeals need no interference.

4. With the assistance of the learned A.P.P. and the learned Counsel for the appellants, we have scrutinized the entire evidence on record. Most of the witnesses in the present case have turned hostile. The conviction has been recorded by the learned trial Judge basically on the basis of the dying declaration of the deceased recorded by PW