ABDUL AJEEJ Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The judgment and order of conviction passed by II Additional District and Sessions Court, Tumkur dated 15/18.07.2011 in S.C. No.35/2006 is called in question by the convicted accused.

(2.) The case of the prosecution in brief is that deceased-Meher Taj is the wife of the accused; a child is born out of the said wedlock; the accused is the second husband of the deceased; so also the deceased is second wife of the accused; after the death of the husband of the deceased, she married the accused; by that time, the accused had divorced his first wife; the deceased had indulged in the work of beedi rolling, whereas the accused was a cook in a hotel; the accused was drunkard and he used to come to the house fully drunk and harass the victim both physically and mentally; he used to abuse her in foul language. At about 11.30 p.m. on 23.09.2005, quarrel took place between the accused and the deceased in respect of marriage certificate; the accused assaulted Meher Taj (deceased) resulting in bleeding injuries; thereafter, he felled her on the ground and poured kerosene and set her on fire; he pronounced that "you alone should not die and I will also die"; so saying he dragged her towards him and consequently accused also sustained injuries; in the meanwhile, the accused and the deceased came out of the house screaming; the neighbours of the house also came out and saw the burning of the victim; immediately, the fire was extinguished by the accused and others and thereafter the victim was taken to District Hospital, Tumkur, wherein she took treatment till 29.09.2005, on which day she succumbed to burn injuries.

(3.) In order to prove its case, the prosecution in all examined 18 witnesses, got marked 17 exhibits and 4 material objects. On behalf of the defence, no exhibit is marked and no witness is examined. The Trial Court, as aforementioned convicted the accused for the offence under Section 302 of IPC.