AMAR SINGH YADAV versus STATE OF U.P.

Citation: [2014] 6 S.C.R. 1044 · Decided: 01-07-2014 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: S. J. MUKHOPADHAYA · Disposal: Disposed off

Judgment (excerpt)

A 
B 
[2014] 6 S.C.R. 1044 
AMAR SINGH YADAV 
V. 
STATE OF U.P. 
(Criminal Appeal Nos. 967-968 of 2010) 
JULY 01, 2014 
[SUDHANSU JYOTI MUKHOPADHAYA AND 
DIPAK MISRA, JJ.] . 
Penal Code, 1860: ss. 302, 307 and 436 - Conviction 
C based on dying declaration - A/legation that the appellant 
having illicit relations with other women - Wife starled taking 
half of his salary from his office directly and on account of that, 
appellant was annoyed with his wife - On the fateful day, 
appellant took his wife, daughters and son to market on the 
D pretext to do shopping for marriage of elder daughter - On 
return, he got down from the van, locked the van and set it 
ablaze - Wife and two daughters died - Courls below convicted 
the appellant on the basis of dying declarations of wife and 
daughters and passed death sentence - Held: The dying 
E declaration of the wife and two daughters corroborated the 
statements of injured eye witnesses - There was no 
discrepancy in the statement of eye-witnesses to disbelieve 
them - There was no reason why wife and daughters would 
falsely implicate appellant - Conviction upheld - Accused 
F committed the crime in a most cruel and inhuman manner -
However, there was no reason to believe that the accused 
cannot be reformed or rehabilitated and that he is likely to 
continue criminal acts of violence as would constitute a 
continuing threat to the society - Thus, imposition of death 
G sentence is not warranted - Sentence commuted to life 
impriso'nment - Accused to serve minimum of 30 years in jail 
without remission - Sentence. 
The prosecution case was that the appellant accused 
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1044 
AMAR SINGH YADAV v. STATE OF U.P. 
1045 
developed illicit relationship with two women which 
A 
caused differences in his family. The wife of the appellant 
started taking half of the salary of the appellant directly 
from the office of the appellant. On account of this, the 
appellant became determined 1o cause death of his wife 
:and all four children. On the fateful day, the appellant 
B 
took his wife and four children to the market on the 
pretext to do shopping for the marriage of elder daughter. 
On return from the market, the appellant stopped the van 
and came out with the driver. After locl5ing \he van, he 
poured kerosene on the van and set it ablaze. Thereafter, c 
the appellant and the driver fled from the said place. 
Meanwhile two police officers saw the van burning. They 
broke open the doors of the burning van and removed 
the people inside to hospital. The wife and two daughters 
of the appellant died. Based on their dying declarations, 
0 
the trial court convicted the appellant under Sections 302, 
307 and 436 IPC and passed death sentence. The -High 
Court confirmed the conviction and death sentence. The 
instant appeal was filed challenging the order of the High 
Court. 
Disposing of the appeal, the Court 
HELD:1. The facts brought out in the dying 
declarations of the wife and the two daughters of the 
accused-appellant has corroborated the statements of 
injured eye-witnesses, PW-5 and PW-6. There was no 
room but to suggest that the accused caused the death 
E 
F 
of the deceased. The dying declarations clearly 
implicated the accused. There were no suspicious 
features which affected the credibility of the dying 
declarations particularly the deceased being related to G 
the accused. There was no apparent reason as to why 
the deceased wife, and daughters would falsely connect 
their husband/father with the murderer attack. Mere fact 
that Doctor in whose presence the dying declaration was 
recorded and/or who endorsed it, was not examined, did 
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SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2014] 6 S.C.R. 
A not affect the evidentiary value of the dying declaration. 
The evidence of Inspector (PW-4) was also corroborated 
by the evidence of eye-witnesses PW-5 and PW-6. There 
was no discrepancy in the statements of the eye-
witnesses to disbelieve them. The trial court rightly 
B convicted the appellant for the offence under Section 302, 
307 and 436 IPC as affirmed by the High Court. [Para 18) 
[1050-0-G] 
2.The prosecution had proved the guilt of the 
accused beyond all reasonable doubt, the accused 
C committed the crime in a most cruel and inhuman 
manner. The helpless wife and young children, who fell 
victims to the avaricious conduct and lust of the 
appellant still the case did not fall within the four corners 
of the principle of "the rarest of the rare case", though 
D no leni

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