RAJ NARAIN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment dated 10/11/1990 of an Additional Sessions Judge, Delhi by which he convictedthe appellant of an offence punishable under Section 3021.P.C. having intentionallycaused the death of one Smt.Asha @ Attri by pouring kerosene oil on her and settingher on fire and order dated 13/11/1990 by which he awarded sentence ofrigorous imprisonment for life and a fine of Rs, 2,000.00 and in default to undergorigorous imprisonment for one month more.The facts, as have come out from the evidence, in brief, are that deceased Ashawas married to one Pyare Lal many years ago and three issues have been born fromthe said wedlock out of whom two were female and one was a boy and she wasliving with her husband Pyare Lal in a lane near Chowki No.2 and even after thedeath of her husband she continued to live there.

(2.) It is the case that about four years prior to her death, she had started livingas wife of appellant. Raj Narain, in the Jhuggi at Shakti Nagar located near thedrain. Raj Narain appears to have represented to the deceased that he was anunmarried person but later on it was revealed to the deceased that Raj Narain wasa married man and his wife had also come to live with Raj Narain a couple of daysprior to the incident in question.

(3.) On 17/06/1987, Asha was found in a burnt condition in the said hut andin a Police Control Room van she was brought first to Hindu Rao Hospital but asfacilities for treating the burn patients were not available in that hospital, she wasremoved to Jai Prakash Narain Hospital by Head Constable Madan Chand, PW-10,and she was got admitted in that hospital at 10.15 p.m. The M.L.C,Ex. PW5/Awasprepared by PW-5 Dr.V.K-Popli who had recorded in that M.L.C. that the patienthad been admitted with alleged history of being set on fire after pouring keroseneoil by Raj Narain (as stated by the patient) and he found that the patient wasconscious and was oriented, pulse was 88 per minute, regular, respiration 24/cmgeneral and both pupils were reacting to light and no smell of alcohol/smell ofkerosene and he found 95% burns on different portions of the body of the patient.The patient was then got admitted in the ward.