LexBETAL SINGH versus STATE OF M.P.
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BETAL SINGH v. STATE OF M.P. APRIL 15, 1996 [M.M. PUNCHHI AND K.T. THOMAS, JJ.) C1in1inal Lalv : Evidence Act, 1872 : Section 32. Blide bwning-Dying declaration-Recorded by Police Office,-Held: could be acted upon if same was trae,. coherent and consistent and free from any effort to prompt deceased to make such statement. Penal Code, 1860: Section 302. A B c B1ide bwning-Accused-husband neither put out fire nor raised alann D seeking help of others-Held: such conduct was consistent with guilt of accused. The appellant-accused was charged for murder of his wife. Though the Sessions Court acquitted the appellant the High Court in an appeal E filed by the State, reversed the acquittal and convicted him under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and sentenced him to undergo im- prisonment for life. Hence this appeal by the convicted appellant. According to tbe prosecution, the appellant, his wife and their little child were living together with appellant's mother. The appellant's F wife was entertaining suspicion that her hnsband was carrying on illicit sexual connection with his elder sister-in-law, and she used to openly accuse him of it. This conduct of' the appellant's wife invited trouble to her from appellant as well as her mother-in-law and she was subjected to torture by them on account of it. A few days prior to her murder her G mother- in-law left the house and went to a nearby village on some errand. On the date of occurrence, appellant doused the deceased with kerosene and set her ablaze by lighting a match-stick. Her little child also caught fire and both sustained severe burn injuries. Hearing her tantrums neople around, including some of the prosecution witnesses, rushed into the room and they witnessed a human inferno remaining H 307 308 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [1996) SUPP. 1 S.C.R. A helpless. They made some efforts to extinguish the fire. But the burn injuries sustained by the deceased were so devastating that she could not survive beyond evening. Before her death the deceased was taken to a nearby hospital. FIR was registered on the strength of statement given by a neighbour (PW-1). B A police officer (PW-14), went to the hospital and record her dying decla- ration. Dismissing the appeal, this court C HELD : 1. Dying declaration under Section 32 of the Evidence Act, 1872 should be scrutinised very carefully and if the Court is satisfied after such scrutiny that the dying declaration was true and was free from any effort to prompt the deceased to make such a statement and is coherent and consistent, there is no legal impediment in fonnding the D conviction on it. The position does not change even if such a dying declaration is put forward in a bride burning case whether or not it has been recorded by the police officer during investigation, [313-A-B) Munnu Raja v. State of M.P., AIR (1976) SC 2199; Dalip Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab, AIR (1979) SC 1173; Kusa v. State of Orissa, AIR (1980) E SC 559; State of Punjab v. Amarjit Singh, AIR (1988) SC 2.013; Smt. Paniben v. State of Gujarat, AIR (1992) SC 1817 and Charipalli Sankararao v. Public Prosecutor, High Court of A.P., [1995) Suppl. 4 SCC 24, relied on. 2. The appellant did not move a little finger to pot out the fire when F his wife and child were struggling in fire, nor did he raise even an alann seeking the help of others to rescue bis wife and child. This conduct of the appellant is very much consistent with the conduct of a culprit who did the act attributed to him. (312-A-B; 313-D] G CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal No. 124 of 1987. From the Judgment and Order dated 31.7.86 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Cr!. A no. 122 of 1980. H U .R. Lalit and S.K. Gambhir for the Appellants. BETALSINGH v. STATE [THOMAS, J.] 309 K.N. Shukla, Prashant Kumar and Uma Nath Singh for the Respon- A dents. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by THOMAS, J. This is a case of uxoricide. Kamla, the teenaged wife of the appellant was burnt to death. Her suckling baby also sustained burns B but did not die then. Appellant was charged for murder of Kamla. Though Sessions Court acquitted the appellant the High Court of Madhya Pradesh in an appeal filed by the State, reversed the acquittal and convicted him under Section 302 !PC and sentenced him to imprisonment for life. Hence this appeal by the convicted appellant. C Fact,, set up by the prosecution, in brie
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