P.K.Sinha, J.

1. All the appellants, abovenamed, stand convicted under Sec. 304 (B) read with Sec. 34 of the Indian Penal Code (#28;The Code#29; in short) and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life. The appellants have further been convicted under Secs. 3 and 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act and further sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for sixmonths each, and to pay a fine of rupees five thousand, each, for both the offences separately, or to undergo simple imprisonment for two months in default to pay the fine. The sentences of imprisonment were ordered to run concurrently.

2. This is a case with two dying declarations, firstly the fardbeyan (Exhibit-5) recorded by a Police Officer on 7-6-1992 (the date of occurrence being the same date) at 8.15 P.M. in the hospital, of the deceased Parveen alias Shama, hospitalized in a seriously burnt condition and the second being statement recorded by Sri Pyare Mohan Lal, Sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate, then posted at Gaya, on 9-6-1992 (Exhibit-9), with almost all the material witnesses including the father and mother of the deceased as well her in-laws, turning hostile, not supporting the prosecution case.

3. First, the case of the pro-secution as in the first dying dec-laration, in brief is that the victim Shama Parveen told the Court witness No. 1, Janak Dulari Sharma at the hospital, where she was posted as Officer-in-charge of the Magadh Medical Police Station, that in the same morning at about 7.00 A.M. while she was in her husband#25;s house, husband having gone out of the house, the appellants Nagina Khatoon, mother-in-law, and Jamila Khatoon, sister-in-law came inside her room and caught hold of her. Her father-in-law, Rafique Alam and brother-in-law Haroon (not appellant) came inside the room and Rafique Alam poured upon her kerosene oil kept in a bottle whereafter Haroon put her on fire with the aid of a match-box. When she wanted to flee away, they themselves came out of the room and bolted the door. On her hulla the elder brother of her husband, Shafique Alam (PW 5) and others came, took her out of the room and extinguished the fire whereafter her husband also came and helped in her rescue though by that time she was badly burnt. On knowing this Md. Idris (PW 9) her father and mother Shamsha Khatoon (PW 8) came there and took her to the Magadh Medical College Hospital. The informant also told in fardbeyan that all the four, who put her to fire, were greedy persons and always asked her to bring money from her father and about two years back on their demand she had brought rupees ten thousand for purchase of sewing machine but now also they were demanding more money. She was married five years back and was blessed with a daughter, two years old. The information alleged that after the marriage they were always insisting for bringing money and used to assault her and ultimately they had put her on fire. She also said that her husband out of their fear was unable to oppose. She also said that her husband was married earlier also but first wife also was ousted from the house after assault by these very accused persons. She claimed that they wanted to kill her so that her husband could be married again and bring more dowry. She also claimed that she had informed her #24;Maika#25; people of all these and on the date of occurrence also she had told about the incident to them. She further claimed that she had got the statement read by her father and finding that correct she was putting her thumb impression thereon.

4. The defence put up by the appellants has all along been that the victim had caught fire while cooking and despite medical help, she could not be saved.

5. Out of the witnesses examined by the prosecution, PW 6 was tendered for cross-examination whereas PW 10 was a formal witness proving certain documents. PW 1 Abdul Gaffar, PW 2 Md. Idris, PW 3 Md. Shaukat, PW 4 Sakina Khatoon (sister-in-law), PW 5 Shafique Alam (brother-in-law) and PWs 8 and 9, S