VIDYA DEVI Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The above appeal has been filed against the decision dated 26-11-1996 of a learned single Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 180-SB of 1995, whereunder the conviction of the appellants under S. 304-B, I.P.C. and the sentence of seven years R.I. each, in addition to the payment of fine of Rs. 1,000/- each, came to be affirmed. The case of the prosecution was that the marriage of the deceased-Satyawati took place with A-5, Kuldeep, about six years prior to the date of occurrence; that they started living at Rohtak, i.e., at the house of her husband, who himself was living in joint family with his father A-4, Puran Mal, and others; that all the accused started harassing and torturing the deceased for want of more dowry and the manner of torture included even physical beating. About 1 1/2 years after the marriage, the deceased gave birth to a male child and though her parental side brought certain gifts, the accused were not satisfied both with reference to their quality and quantity and on that also they tortured the deceased-Satyawati. On 27-7-1993, about four months before the death of Satyawati, a demand was made for a sum of Rs. 20,000/- as further dowry and for not complying with the demand, the deceased was not only tortured by physical beating but was said to have been locked in a room for four days from where she managed to escape and reached the house of her sister Krishna, in the same place. Thereupon, the sisters called their mother Misri Devi and a written complaint in Ex. PO was said to have been lodged with the Police through the Deputy Commissioner and on the said complaint, the husband and father-in-law of the deceased were arrested and taken to the Police Station. Both of them were said to have apologized to the complainant party and then a compromise was said to have been effected and reduced into writing as Ex. PO/1, which was also attested by the Police Officer in Ex. PO/2 and thereafter the deceased was brought back to the house of her-in-laws. About four months thereafter on 16-11-1993 at about 10.30 a.m. when the husband Kuldeep and father-in-law Puran Mal were away, the A-1, her mother-in-law by name Vidhya Devi, caught hold of the deceased by her hands on her back and Mina Devi, the daughter of Vidhya Devi, sprinkled kerosene on the deceased and then A-2, the son of A-1 and A-4 by name Harish Kumar, set her ablaze. After she caught fire, her hands were said to have been freed on which she was said to have jumped into a water tank and raised alarm which attracted a front door neighbour by name Kalawati, who was said to be the eye-witness for the occurrence including the catching hold of hands by Vidhya Devi, sprinkling of kerosene by Mina Devi and setting her ablaze by Harish. Thereupon, those three accused were said to have pulled her out from the water tank and put her on a cot stating that no treatment will be given and she would, in the normal course, die of the burns. At that stage, the neighbour Kalawati was said to have approached the sister of Satyawati, by name Krishna, in the office of Deputy Commissioner, where Krishna was said to be working and she brought her mother Misri Devi from Jind and then Misri Devi was said to have taken the injured to the Medical College and Hospital, Rohtak.

(2.) The Medical Officer was said to have sent an information to the Police Station of the admission of Satyawati in the Hospital as a burn case and when the Police Officer went to the Hospital after collecting the necessary information, the Medical Officer attending on her appears to have opined that she was not fit to make the statement and when in the evening the Police Officer again contacted the Doctor with a written request Ex. PC, he obtained his opinion and that she was declared to be fit to make the statement. When the Police Officer contacted the Magistrate to record a dying declaration of the injured, the Magistrate seems to have declined stating that the Police Officer must first register the case and at that stage the Police Officer contacted the injured Satyawati and recorded Ex. PD, the statement, in the course of investigation to the effect that all the five accused had been harassing her for want of more dowry and that she was set ablaze by the three accused, noticed above. The victim ultimately died at 11.30 a.m. on 20-11-1993. After completing the formalities of the investigation such as FIR, recording of statement, inspection of the place of occurrence, inquest and conduct of post-mortem and obtaining Medico Legal Opinion, the five accused, noticed above, were charged under Ss. 498-A, 304-B, 302 read with S. 34 of I.P.C. In support of the prosecution case, about 14 witnesses were said to have been examined, which included the Investigating Officers, P.W. 11 who claimed to be an eye-witness to the occurrence, P.W. 13 the mother of the victim, the Doctors who attended on her and the Doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination. For the defence, two witnesses were examined, besides examination of the accused under S. 313, Cr. P.C. and on consideration of the materials on record, the learned trial Judge by his judgment dated 9-2-1995 in Sessions Case No. 15 of 1994 convicted the appellants for offence punishable under S. 304-B, I.P.C. on the view that there was direct and substantial evidence against them though in respect of the other offences these accused and the remaining three accused in respect of all offences were found not guilty. The challenge made to the veracity and validity of the dying declaration recorded by the Investigating Officer was also repelled by the learned trial Judge.

(3.) Aggrieved, the appellants pursued the matter on appeal and as noticed above, the High Court affirmed the conviction and sentence recorded by the learned trial Judge.