IMPORTANT POINT
An appellate court can only overturn an acquittal if it finds a clear error or illegality in the trial court's judgment, maintaining the presumption of innocence.

JUDGMENT :

1. This Criminal Appeal under Section 378 (3) & (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure has been preferred by the appellant-State laying a challenge to the judgment of acquittal dated 23.03.1995 passed by the learned Additional District & Sessions Judge, Nimbahera in Sessions Case No. 13/94 (State of Rajasthan Vs. Badrilal & Ors.), whereby the accused-respondents were acquitted of the charges against them under Sections 302 & 302/34 IPC.

2. The matter pertains to an incident which had occurred in the year 1993 and the present appeal has been pending since the year 1995.

3. Brief facts of the case, as placed before this Court by learned Public Prosecutor appearing on behalf of the appellant-State, are that on 30.10.1993, Smt. Shakku Bai was admitted in Government Hospital at Nimbahera in a burnt condition. At around 7:30 AM, one Shri Satyanarayan, the then A.S.I., Police Station Nimbahera recorded her statement. In her statement, Smt. Shakku Bai W/o Badrilal, resident of Nimbahera initially claimed that she, of her own free will, poured kerosene and burnt herself. She cited the reason therefor that her mother-in-law Nani Bai, brother-in-law Kishan and other family members had severely beaten her. In the night at 11:00 PM, she was talking to a boy named Manoj, who worked at their place making sweets. Her mother-in-law witnessed this interaction and proceeded to beat her severely with a broom. At that time, her husband was also present on the spot. Following this, in the presence of her husband, Smt. Shakku Bai poured kerosene on herself and her husband lit the match from behind, thereby setting her on fire. As per the statement of Smt. Shakku Bai, she had not mentioned using the matchstick herself. She also revealed that two years prior, her husband had poured kerosene on her. According to the statement given by Smt. Shakku, the said act was committed by her husband, while saying that he had been threatened several times by her, that she would commit suicide, and thus, her husband set her on fire, while saying that he himself would burn Smt. Shakku, and lit the match and set her on fire. At that time, her father-in-law, brother-in-law, mother-in-law and other family members were present at the site. It was not known that the neighbors did not come at that time and she was beaten up from 11:00 PM to 5:00 AM, due to which, she got upset.

4. On the basis of the aforementioned information, an FIR was registered and the investigation commenced accordingly. After investigation, the police filed the charge-sheet against the accused persons, and the trial commenced accordingly.

5. During the course of trial, the evidence of 15 prosecution witnesses were recorded and 17 documents were exhibited on behalf of the prosecution; whereafter, the accused-respondents were examined under Section 313 Cr.P.C., in which the accused respondents pleaded innocence and their false implication in the criminal case in question.

6. Thereafter, upon hearing the contentions of both the parties as well as considering the material and evidence placed on record, the learned Trial Court, acquitted the accused-respondents namely Badrilal, Nanibai and Kishanlal, vide the impugned judgment of acquittal dated 23.03.1995, against which the present appeal has been preferred on behalf of the appellant-State.

7. Mr. Sameer Pareek, learned Public Prosecutor submits that the incident occurred late at night when Manoj, a worker in the house, was talking to deceased Smt. Shakku, which led to an altercation between deceased and her mother-in-law, when her husband Badrilal was also standing nearby.

7.1. Learned Public Prosecutor admits that there are no eyewitnesses or any other circumstantial evidence in the present case, but principally the prosecution case rests upon the dying declaration of the deceased Smt. Shakku Bai.

7.2. Learned Public Prosecutor has taken this Court to Exhibit P-14, which is attested by a Junior Specialist, Referral Hospital Nimbahera on 30.10.1993