9911796707
TMI Blog2015 (4) TMI 1336X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r livelihood by doing daily wages work. On 4.9.2005 at about 6.00 A.M., the deceased Saraswatibai went to answer nature's call and on her return, the deceased was questioned by the Appellant as to why she returned late and the accused suspected her fidelity. Inspite of deceased trying to convince the Appellant, the Appellant started assaulting her with fists and kicks. The Appellant poured kerosene from a nearby lamp and set her ablaze. Saree of the deceased caught fire and the deceased ran towards the accused in an attempt to catch him, thereby burning the hands of the accused. When deceased started screaming for help, the Appellant, in order to save her, poured water on the deceased. In the meanwhile, the neighbours and the parents of the deceased gathered and the deceased was taken to the hospital. On the way to the hospital, the deceased narrated the incident to her mother Gangabai-PW 2 and sister-in-law-Sindhu Sunil Ingole (PW 3) and also to neighbour Raju Janrao Gavai-PW 1. On receipt of information about the occurrence, Sub Inspector of Police-Digmber Ramrao Ravrale (PW 9) went to the Government Hospital and he verified the condition of the deceased through the Medical O ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is hands also got burnt and the courts below did not properly appreciate the evidence and the statement of the accused. It was further submitted that in any event, there was no pre-meditation and there was no intention on the part of the Appellant to kill his wife and the facts and circumstances show that the Appellant could not have intended to cause the death of deceased. 7. Learned Counsel for the Respondent reiterated findings of the courts below and submitted that the act of pouring kerosene and throwing the lighted matchstick on the deceased to set her ablaze would clearly prove that the accused intended to cause death and courts below rightly convicted the Appellant Under Section 302 Indian Penal Code. 8. Insofar as the first contention that the Appellant is not responsible for the death of deceased Saraswatibai, defence made an attempt to contend that the fire was accidental and that the Appellant tried to extinguish the fire in order to save her and in that process, he also suffered burn injuries. Prosecution has adduced cogent evidence to prove that the Appellant has caused the death of deceased-Saraswatibai. Accused suspected the deceased of infidelity and picking up a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... laze by the Appellant and this act was not accidental or unintentional; (iii) the post mortem certificate revealed that deceased died due to shock and septicaemia caused by 60% burn injuries. When the accused poured kerosene on the deceased from the kerosene lamp and also threw the lighted matchstick on the deceased to set her on fire, he must have intended to cause the death of the deceased. As seen from the evidence of PW 5-Panch Witness, in the house of the Appellant kerosene lamp was prepared in an empty liquor bottle. Whether the kerosene is poured from the kerosene lamp or from the can is of no consequence. When there is clear evidence as to the act of the accused to set the deceased on fire, absence of pre-meditation will not reduce the offence of murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Likewise, pouring of water will not mitigate the gravity of the offence. 11. After attending to nature's call, the deceased returned to the house a little late. The accused questioned her as to why she was coming late and he also suspected her fidelity. There was no provocation for the accused to pour kerosene and set her on fire. Act of pouring kerosene, though in a spur of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n the deceased screamed for help. Therefore, it cannot be considered as a mitigating factor. An act undertaken by a person in fall awareness, knowing its consequences cannot be treated at par with an act committed by a person in a highly inebriated condition where his faculty of reason becomes blurred. 15. Within three months of her marriage, the deceased died of burn injuries. In bride burning cases, whenever the guilt of the accused is brought home beyond reasonable doubt, it is the duty of the Court to deal with it sternly and award the maximum penalty prescribed by the law in order that it may operate as a deterrence to other persons from committing such offence. 16. This Court on various occasions has stressed the need for vigilance in cases where a woman dies of burn injuries within a short span of her marriage and that stern view needs to be adopted in all such cases. In Satya Narayan Tiwari and Anr. v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2010) 13 SCC 689, this Court in paragraphs (3) and (9) has held as under: 3. Indian society has become a sick society. This is evident from the large number of cases coming up in this Court (and also in almost all courts in the country) in which yo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
