LAXMI Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) LAXMI and Sheela have been held guilty for having burnt Rajbala with the common intention of killing her at 1:45 PM on September 20, 1995 at House No.RZ -228, Double Storey, Harijan Colony, Tilak Vihar, Delhi. The verdict of guilt is as per the judgment dated February 28, 2000. Both have been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life as per the order dated February 29, 2000. The learned Additional Session Judge has accepted the statement Ex.PW -15/B made by Rajbala to ASI Om Prakash PW -15, as her dying declaration. The testimony of Ms.Sunita PW -2 and Kumari Babita PW -3, the two daughters of Rajbala has been believed. The two have been held to be truthful eye -witnesses. Further incriminating evidence has been found in the contents of DD No.8A, Ex.PW -5/D, recorded by ASI Poonam PW -5, duly corroborated with the testimony of Ct.Ramesh PW -22. The contents of Ex.PW -5/D are to the effect that when Rajbala was brought to the casualty of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital at 2:20 PM, Ct.Ramesh, who was on duty at DDU Hospital was informed that a lady had been admitted at the hospital in a burnt condition. He met Rajbala who told him that Laxmi and Sheela had set her on fire. To put it pithily, the verdict of guilt is based upon two dying declarations made by the Rajbala. Firstly to Ct.Ramesh and thereafter to ASI Om Prakash as also on the testimony of two eye -witnesses.

(2.) SHEELA and Laxmi urge in the appeal that there are material contradictions in the testimony of Sunita and Babita thereby rendering the percipient evidentiary worth of their testimony highly tainted and possibly suggestive of the fact that their father Ram Kumar had set his wife on fire and the two daughters deposed falsely to save their father and for which Sheela and Laxmi urge that the delay in removing Rajbala to the hospital and the further delay in registration of the FIR needs to be taken note of. Their argument is that this time was used by Ram Kumar to spin a story through the mouth of his daughters. Sheela and Laxmi refer to their conduct of being in their house when the police apprehended them the same evening when Rajbala suffered burned injuries. They urge that if the two had burnt Rajbala, they would not be sitting in their respective homes and would flee from justice. Sheela and Rajbala question the authenticity of Ex.PW -15/B, the dying declaration of Rajbala by urging that Dr.S.Dureja PW -20, who wrote Rajbala 's MLC Ex.PW -15/A had categorically deposed that whereas the writing on the MLC was his and he had signed at point 'X ', the writing encircled in red ink on the MLC was not his handwriting. The writing referred to by Dr.S.Dureja certifies that the patient is fit for statement. And we need to put a clarificatory note here. The portion encircled with red ink on the MLC contains the writing 'Ex.PW -15/A ' and beneath the same is the signature of the learned Judge who recorded the evidence. It is apparent that there is a discrepancy in what has been recorded as 'encircled in red ' in the testimony of the witnesses and what has been actually 'encircled in red '. A mistake has apparently occurred. Instead of encircling in red where it is written 'patient is fit for statement ' inadvertently the place where the learned Judge wrote the exhibit mark on the MLC and penned his signatures has got encircled in red.

(3.) PROCESS of law was set into motion when DD No.16, Ex.PW -8/A was recorded at 2:15 PM by the duty officer P.S. Tilak Nagar that lady Ct.Babita at the Police Control Room had informed that a person who did not give his name rang up the Police Control Room that a lady had been burnt at W -56, Tilak Nagar. Copy of DD No.16 was handed over to H.C.Rajkumar PW -8, for inquiry and accompanied by Ct.Shailender Kumar he went to House No.228, Double Storey, Harijan Colony, Tilak Nagar and learnt that the injured had been removed to the hospital by her husband. He saw signs of a fire near the kitchen of the house. He left Ct.Shailender and went to DDU Hospital and found Rajbala admitted in the hospital. In the meanwhile, Rajbala had been taken to DDU Hospital by her husband Raj Kumar PW -4. She was admitted at the hospital at 2:20 PM as recorded in the MLC EX.PW -15/A. Said information was conveyed to P.S.Tilak Nagar by Ct.Ramesh and was recorded in DD No.8/A at 2:40 PM in the daily diary register by ASI Poonam. Copy of DD No.8/A was handed over to ASI Om Prakash who proceeded to DDU Hospital. He met H.C.Rajkumar at the hospital who handed over to him copy of DD No.16. He found Rajbala admitted in the hospital in a burnt condition and obtained copy of her MLC Ex.PW -15/A. He claims that the doctor declared her fit for statement and he recorded Rajbala 's statement Ex.PW -15/B. He made an endorsement Ex.PW -15/C beneath the statement and dispatched the same, as recorded in Ex.PW -15/C, from the hospital at 4:00 PM for FIR to be registered. At the police station, as per DD No.9 -A, FIR No.684/95 for an offence punishable under Section 307/34 IPC was registered at 4:15 PM. Further investigation was immediately taken over by SI S.S.Yadav PW -23 who went to Rajbala 's house. He prepared the rough site plan Ex.PW -23/A. He summoned a photographer who took three photographs Ex.PW -16/A to Ex.PW -16/C of the scene of the crime. From the photographs one can make out that the semi burnt clothes of Rajbala are lying outside the bathroom and the matchbox is lying about two feet away. From the spot he picked up a match box Ex.P -4 containing unburnt matchstick, one burnt matchstick and recorded the same in the memo Ex.PW -6/A which was witnessed by Ct.Shailender PW -6. He also picked up half -burnt clothes Ex.P -2 having a print in red and black colour which he recorded in the memo Ex.PW -6/B. He also picked up a plastic can Ex.P -1 of 5 litre capacity containing one litre kerosene oil and recorded said fact in the seizure memo Ex.PW -6/C. He called Ct.Geeta PW - 13 to the spot and proceeded to the residence of Sheela and Laxmi. He apprehended the two from their house. Rajbala died at around 6:00 PM the same day and this information was conveyed to SI S.S.Yadav who went to the hospital and completed the inquest proceedings Ex.PW -14/B -1 to B -11. Bheem Singh and Rajkumar, two relatives of Rajbala identified her dead body. He got conducted the post mortem and handed over the dead body to the family members.