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1996 Supreme(Pat) 361
PATNA HIGH COURT
B.P.Singh and P.K.Sarkar JJ.
Md.Mateen
Versus
State Of Bihar
Criminal Appeal No. 15 of 1995 ;
Decided On : MAY 23, 1996
The testimony of a child witness can be relied upon to convict an accused person, provided that the witness is intelligent and capable of understanding the questions put to them, that their answers are forthright and do not give the impression that they are speaking from imagination, and that they have been consistent in their statements throughout the proceedings.
Headnote:
CRIMINAL LAW - Murder - Conviction - Appeal - Evidence - Child Witness - Reliability - Corroboration - Motive - Dying Declaration - First Information Report - Statement Under Section 164 Cr.P.C. - Hostile Witness - Credibility - Tutored Evidence - Suicide - Appreciation of Evidence.
Fact of the Case:
The appellant was convicted of murdering his wife by setting her on fire. The prosecution's case was based primarily on the testimony of the appellant's minor daughter, who was an eyewitness to the incident. The appellant's father, who had initially lodged a complaint against him, later resiled from his statement and was declared hostile. The appellant's mother and another co-accused were acquitted of the charges against them.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the child witness was a reliable witness and that her testimony was consistent with her earlier statements to the police and the magistrate. The court also found that there was sufficient evidence to establish the appellant's motive for the crime, including his extramarital affair and his history of abusing his wife. The court rejected the appellant's contention that the deceased had committed suicide, finding that the evidence did not support this theory.
Issues: 1. Whether the child witness's testimony was reliable and could be relied upon to convict the appellant. 2. Whether there was sufficient evidence to establish the appellant's motive for the crime. 3. Whether the deceased had committed suicide.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The court held that the child witness's testimony was reliable and could be relied upon to convict the appellant. The court found that the witness was intelligent and capable of understanding the questions put to her, that her answers were forthright and did not give the impression that she was speaking from imagination, and that she had been consistent in her statements throughout the proceedings. 2. The court held that there was sufficient evidence to establish the appellant's motive for the crime. The court found that the appellant had been having an extramarital affair, that he had a history of abusing his wife, and that the deceased had objected to his relationship with the other woman. The court also found that the appellant had threatened to kill his wife on several occasions. 3. The court held that the deceased had not committed suicide. The court found that the evidence did not support this theory, as the deceased had been in good health and had no reason to take her own life.
Final Decision: The court dismissed the appellant's appeal and upheld his conviction for murder.
B.P.Singh and P.K.Sarkar JJ.
1. The appellant herein has appealed against his conviction and sentence by the 4th Addl. Judicial Commissioner, Ranchi, who found the appellant guilty of the offence under Sec. 302 IPC and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for life. The appellant was charged of offences under Sec. 302 and 304 B IPC and was tried along with two others namely his mother Gosan Are and Anr. lady Mahabeen Khatoon who were charged of the offence under Sec. 302/109 IPC. The appellant is an advocate by profession and the victim was his wife Sajda who is alleged to have been burnt to death by the appellant by setting her on fire at about 3 p.m. on the 4th of June, 1992. The ostensible reason for the appellant to commit the offence appears to be extra marital involvement with Mahjabeen (co-accused), which was objected to by the deceased. The aforesaid Mahjabeen has been acquitted of the charge levelled against her and similarly Gosan Ara, mother of the appellant has been acquitted of the charge of the abetting the offence of murder.
2. The informant in this case was the father of the appellant, namely Md. Rais and it was on the basis of information given by his father that a formal First Information report was drawn up and the case was registered against the appellant. The aforesaid, Md. Rais who was examined as P.W. , 5 supported the prosecution case against the appellant even in his statement recorded by a Magistrate under Sec. 164 Cr. P.C However, at the trial, he resiled from his statement and was therefore, declared hostile. The prosecution case, however, depends mainly on the evidence of the minor daughter of the appellant and the deceased, namely, Shabana Praveen who was examined as P.W. 6. This witness was about 9 years old when she was examined as a witness 13th August, 1993 which means that she was about 8 years of age when the occurrence took place.
3. As noticed earlier, the First Information report was lodged by Md. Rais, P.W. 5 at about 4 P.M. on the 4h of June, 1992, the date of occurrence. The said report was lodged by him before Sub-Inspector of Police, N.K. Singh, P.W. 7 of the Dorands Police Station. In his report, Md. Rais stated that at about 3 P.M. his daughter-in-law Sajda Khatoon was in her room. Suddenly, he noticed flames coming out for the room and he also heard the cries of his daughter-in-law. He along with his family members went towards that room and found that the door was closed from the one side but was open from the other side. On alarm being raised, several persons had come from the neighbouring houses. When they entered the room, they found that his daughter-in-law was on fire. He extinguished the fire with the help of others. He went on to state that his son Md. Mateen (appellant) had been assaulting his daughter-in-law for the last several years and used to torture her. Even on the proceeding night, his son had assaulted his daughter-in-law and had again assaulted her in the morning. He always threatened to kill her. Today at about 3 P.M., his son had set his wife on fire with intention of killing her, as a result of which she had received extensive injuries and had become unconscious. His daughter-in-law had been sent for treatment to the Ranchi Medical College and Hospital. His son did not like his wife and was a debauch. He was keeping another girl Mahjabeen with whom he had bad relation. The informant further stated that he was fully convinced that his son had set fire to the daughter-in-law with a view to kill her. His son had run away somewhere after setting his daughter-in-law on fire. The aforesaid report lodged by Md. Rais, P.W. 5 is witnessed by A.K. Naushad, P.W. 1. On the basis of the said report, initially a case under Sec. 307/326 IPC was registered but later on, after the death of Sajda, the appellant was ultimately charged of the offences under Secs. 302 and 304-B IPC while the remaining two co-accused were charged of the offence under Sec. 302/109 IPC for
