Point of Law : Culpable homicide is not murder if it is committed without premeditation in a sudden fight in the heat of passion upon a sudden quarrel and without the offender having taken undue advantage or acted in a cruel or unusual manner.

JUDGMENT :

Prasanna B. Varale, J.

1. Being aggrieved by the judgment and order passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Pune, in Sessions Case No. 365/1994, dated 24th February, 1995, whereby Appellant herein (Original Accused) who was convicted for the offences punishable under Sections 302 of the Indian Penal Code (for short “IPC”), and sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life and also to pay fine of Rs. 100/- in default to suffer further R.I. for one year, preferred the present Appeal.

2. The case of prosecution rests on the oral and documentary evidence in the form of five witnesses examined by the prosecution in support of its case and the documents in the form of injury certificate, postmortem report, various panchnamas and CA report. The accused in her defence examined one witness. The prosecution in support of its case heavily relied on two dying declarations.

3. The case of prosecution, in brief, can be summarized as under :

Accused – Appellant was residing with her husband, son Shivshankat at one tenement marked as 9/8 ‘B’ type, Range-Hills, Khadki, Pune. Her husband Kashinath was working as labourer in the Ammunition Factory, Khadki and was receiving a meager salary of 2,000/- and this meager salary was further subjected to various deductions. After all deductions, Kashinath was getting salary of Rs. 600 cash in hands. This amount of Rs. 600 per month was wholly insufficient for the wife i.e. Appellant to run the house. On account of this disproportion namely, the requirement of money for the expenses as against the meager amount of Rs. 600 being received by the Kashinath in which the Appellant was to run the house, was always a reason of quarrels between the couple. These quarrels also led to two complaints being lodged by the Appellant against her husband in the police station. The unfortunate incident took place on 10.06.1994.

4. The deceased-Kashinath along with his granddaughter went to the Ammunition Factory to collect the amount of his salary. As soon the deceased came out of the factory, the accused who was waiting outside, asked the deceased for payment. The deceased replied that he received the salary of Rs. 50 only after all deductions. The couple then proceeded to market for purchasing some sweets for grand-daughter. Then they dropped grand-daughter in the matrimonial house of their daughter and returned back to their residence at about 10.00 pm. The deceased asked the Appellant to cook the food to which Appellant asked the deceased to give her money so as to make arrangements for cooking food. The deceased expressed his inability. This exchange of words led to quarrel between the couple. It is the case of the prosecution that the accused hurled abuses and by pouring kerosene on the person of her husband and by igniting matchstick from the match box set him on fire. The deceased who was subjected to the burns started shouting. One Rakesh Pilley (PW 2) who happened to be sub-tenant of the deceased opened the door of his room and found that the deceased in flames whereas Appellant was standing. Rakesh (PW 2) asked her mother to bring blanket. Meantime, the deceased and Appellant both came on the ground floor. Rakesh (PW 2) who was having blanket also got down on the ground floor and wrapped the deceased in the blanket so as to extinguish flames. One Amol Thorat (PW 1) who had parked his handcart and was talking to one resident of the area also witnessed the incident. While Rakesh was wrapping the deceased in blanket, he told him that his wife set him on fire and ran away.

5. Meantime, mother of Rakesh made a phone call to police. Then police immediately reached on the spot and took the deceased to Military Hospital, Khadki. PSI Narayan Kamthe (PW 3) who was attached to Khadki Police Station at the relevant time on receipt of the information rushed to Military Hospital and in presence of one D.B. Mokashi, Nursing Assistant working in the Military Hospital recorded the statement of the deceased and the sam