JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Sri Pradeep Kumar Shukla, learned counsel for the appellant and Sri Jugal Kishore, learned AGA for the State.

2. This criminal appeal has been filed by the appellant-Pawan Sut @ Ram Sukh Tiwari challenging the order of conviction and sentence dated 24.04.2003 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge/FTC III, Sultanpur in ST No. 37 of 2021 whereby the appellant has been convicted under section 306 IPC and sentenced to undergo imprisonment of 8 years and a fine of Rs. 5,000/-and further 6 months in default of fine.

3. A number of legal and factual points have been raised by the appellant which shall be dealt with at appropriate stages in the body of the judgment.

4. Relevant facts in nutshell are as below:-

(i) The informant Satya Narayan Tiwari gave a written report before the police station concerned with the allegations that his sister-Meera Devi was married to Pawan Sut @ Ram Sukh Tiwari; Pawan Sut @ Ram Sukh (the accused), Ram Das, Gurprasad, Sri Chand set her ablaze at about 9.00 pm on 26.09.2000; it is alleged in the FIR that her husband was selling of all his property gradually and he used to ask his sister that he should have brought at least Rs. 10,000/-per month from her 'maika' to meet out his expenses; it is further alleged that when his sister disclosed all the matter to him, he counseled her and left her at her husband's place; he received the information of the incident next day at about 4.00 pm, therefore they reached the district hospital, Sultanpur; his sister (the deceased) told him that accused got annoyed when she asked whether he had brought vegetables or not; he poured kerosene oil on her and rest of the accused persons assisted and she was set to fire by her husband; her condition deteriorated and she succumbed to her injuries on 28.09.2000; on the basis of this information, case crime no. 402 of 2000 under section 304 IPC was registered and investigated upon; the postmortem of the dead body was conducted; a dying declaration was recorded; the statement of witnesses were recorded and thereafter accused Pawan Sut @ Ram Sukh Tiwari was chargesheeted under section 306 IPC.

(ii) The prosecution examined PW1-Satya Narayan (the first informant), PW2-Hare Ram, Pw3-Ravi Dutt Tiwari, PW4-Asharfi Lal (the witnesses of fact), PW5-Dr. Anil Kumar, PW6-Dr. B.N. Tiwari, PW7-ASI Pramod Kumar, PW8-Nayab Tehsildar, PW9-Asha Ram (Nayab Tehsildar), PW10-the investigating officer.

(iii) The statement of the accused was recorded under Section 313 Cr.P.C.; the accused denied that his wife died of burn injuries but admitted that his wife died on 28.09.2000 at about 6.30 am; after flatly denying all other facts of the case, he stated that the clothes of her wife caught fire when she was cooking food and that he is innocent.

5. Heard and perused the papers on record in the light of the contentions of both the sides.

6. PW1-Satya Narayan Tiwari who admittedly is the real brother of the deceased has chosen not to support the prosecution case and denied that his sister ever told him that the accused-Pawan Sut @ Ram Sukh Tiwari (husband of the deceased) poured kerosene oil and set her ablaze; from the statement given by him this fact is sufficiently proved that when he visited his sister in the hospital, she was lying there with extensive burn injuries on her body and the next day she died.

7. PW2-Hari Ram denied having knowledge of any bickering between the deceased and her husband or that he ever used to maltreat her; he said that he was not in the village when the incident happened.

8. PW3-Ravi Dutt Tiwari, who belongs to same family as that of accused, has stated that Pawan Sut @ Ram Sukh Tiwari is a drunkard; he did not do any job and that he was selling of all his property gradually, therefore none was left to take care of his children; he has stated that his wife (the deceased) tried to check him from indulging in such habit and also from dissipating his property pleading that how she and her children shall survive, i