NEELAVVA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Being aggrieved by the judgment and order dated 10.10.2018 in SC No.46/2014 on the file of Principal District and Sessions Judge, Bagalkot, by which she came to be convicted for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ( IPC , for short) and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay fine of Rs.25,000/-, appellant, who is the sole accused, has filed this appeal under Section 374(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ( Cr.P.C. for short).

(2.) For the sake of convenience, the appellant is referred to as accused.

(3.) Accused is the wife of the deceased. The deceased was suspecting the fidelity of his wife i.e., the accused is having an affair with other man and with this suspicion, he used to quarrel with the accused everyday and for this reason, he did not want the accused to go and work outside and he was a drunkard and also under the influence of alcohol he used to quarrel with the accused. It is the case of the prosecution that, in this background, the incident took place on 20.02.2014. On that day, deceased, accused and their son were the only inmates of the house and after finishing dinner, while the deceased slept on the cot, accused and their son slept on the floor of the house and at around 11.30 pm, accused poured kerosene over the body of her husband i.e., deceased and set him on fire and while undergoing treatment, he died.