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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD
Vibha Kankanwadi, Y.G. Khobragade, JJ.
Shaikh Mustafa s/o Shaikh Dastagir - Appellant
Versus
The State of Maharashtra Through Police Station Officer, Police Station - Respondent
Criminal Appeal No. 431 of 2016
Decided On : 04-05-2023
Dying Declaration - Indian Penal Code - Section 302 - [FACT OF THE CASE] The appellant was convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for setting his wife on fire, resulting in her death. The prosecution relied on two dying declarations and the testimony of the deceased's daughter. The appellant challenged the conviction, arguing inconsistencies in the dying declarations and lack of corroboration. [FINDING OF THE COURT] The court found that the dying declarations and the daughter's testimony were untrustworthy and failed to prove the appellant's guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The court concluded that the prosecution had miserably failed to prove the guilt of the accused and acquitted the appellant. [ISSUES] The issues revolved around the reliability of the dying declarations and the sufficiency of evidence to establish the guilt of the accused. [RATIO DECIDENDI] The court emphasized the need for dying declarations to inspire confidence, the absence of tutoring or prompting, and the compatibility of the declaration with established facts. The court also highlighted the importance of ruling out accidental or suicidal causes of death in cases of homicidal death. [FINAL DECISION] The court allowed the appeal, set aside the conviction, and acquitted the appellant of the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
JUDGMENT :
Vibha Kankanwadi, J.
1. Present appeal has been filed by the original accused No.1 challenging his conviction under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Majalgaon, Dist. Beed in Sessions Case No.50/2014 on 27.06.2016.
2. The prosecution story, in short, is that one Chunni w/o Mustafa Shaikh came to be admitted in Swami Ramanand Tirth Hospital, Ambajogai on 27.07.2014. PW 4 ASI Mr. Ramakant Thorat attached to Ambajogai City Police Station recorded her statement (Exh.47) between 9.00 to 9.30 a.m. on 27.07.2014. She disclosed that she resides with her husband, three children, mother-in-law and father-in-law at village Nitrud, Tq. Majalgaon. Her husband i.e. present appellant demanded her money for drinking liquor around 7.00 a.m. on 27.07.2014. She refused to give the money. Accused No.1 abused her and poured kerosene from can on her person and thereafter by igniting the match stick set her to fire. When she tried to go out of the house in burning condition, at that time, the in-laws latched the door from inside and prevented her from going out. When she was shouting, her brother, who is also the resident of same village, came along with other persons. He had poured water on her person and extinguished the fire. She was then taken by her brother and mother in private vehicle to Government Hospital, Ambajogai, where she was under treatment. She then gave First Information Report against her husband and in-laws. After recording the said statement, which was treated as First Information Report, under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure; offence vide Crime No.69/2014 came to be registered for the offence punishable under Section 307 read with Section 34, 504 of the Indian Penal Code and investigation was undertaken. It is further prosecution story that at the same time a request letter was given to the Executive Magistrate to record the Dying Declaration. Accordingly, PW 5 Balkrishna Wanjerkhedkar, who was serving as Naib Tahsildar, visited the hospital and recorded second Dying Declaration Exh.57 between 11.35 a.m. to 12.00 noon on the same day.
3. During the course of the investigation PW 10 API Mr. Rakesh Choudhari visited the spot and carried out spot panchnama Exh.39 and seized certain articles from the spot. Those articles were sent for analysis to the Chemical Analyzer at Aurangabad. He recorded statements of witnesses under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. It was informed to him that Chunni has expired on 02.08.2014 around 3.15 p.m. Therefore, the inquest panchnama was got executed with the help of two panchas and dead body was sent for postmortem. Provisional certificate was collected and supplementary statements were recorded. Accused came to be arrested. After collecting further necessary documents charge sheet was filed before learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Ambajogai, who committed the case for trial to the Court of Sessions.
4. After the committal of the case the charge was framed against all the accused for the offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. They pleaded not guilty and trial has been conducted. The prosecution has examined in all 10 witnesses to bring home the guilt of the accused. Statements of accused Nos.1 and 3 under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure were recorded. By that time accused No.2 was reported to be dead and, therefore, case stood abated against him. The accused persons have examined two witnesses in defence.
5. Considering the entire evidence on record and hearing both sides the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Ambajogai held accused No.1 guilty of committing offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay fine of Rs.2,000/- (Rupees Two Thousand only), in default to suffer simple imprisonment for two months. Set off under Section 428 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was gran
The court emphasized the need for dying declarations to inspire confidence, the absence of tutoring or prompting, and the compatibility of the declaration with established facts.
A dying declaration can serve as the sole basis for conviction if it meets the criteria of truthfulness, voluntariness, and absence of suspicion, as established by the Indian Evidence Act and relevan....
The admissibility and evidentiary value of Dying Declarations, as governed by Section 32(1) of the Evidence Act and the principles established in relevant case law, were central to the judgment.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the requirement for voluntary, reliable, and consistent dying declarations, along with the need for corroboration and prompt recording to ensure th....
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....
Dying declarations can be the basis for conviction if they are found to be truthful and voluntary; however, they must be carefully scrutinized, especially in the absence of corroborative evidence.
The reliability and consistency of dying declarations are crucial in criminal cases, especially when multiple contradictory declarations are present.
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