GIRI RAJ KISHORE AND ORS. Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants before us seek to assail the judgment dated February 24, 2000 convicting them for the offence punishable under Sec. 302/34 IPC and the order on sentence dated March 03, 2000 passed consequently, whereby imprisonment for life and fine of Rs. 2,000/ - each has been imposed upon them by the learned Additional Sessions Judge - Shahdara, Delhi.

(2.) At the outset, we venture to pithily capture the contours of the incident and the steps taken during investigation that are germane to the adjudication of the present appeal whilst eschewing unnecessary particulars to avoid prolixity.

(3.) On the fateful day - October 20, 1996, in the afternoon around 01:30/02:00 PM the deceased Lallu Kashyap consumed liquor in the company of the appellants : Giri Raj Kishore and Girdhari Lal @ Pinki at the house of his brother -in -law - Rakesh located at 117, B Block, Gali No. 3, Meet Nagar, Delhi. The appellants were related to Rakesh (not examined during trial) being his nephew and were also residing with him at the said address. According to the prosecution, Appellant No. 2 - Girdhari Lal @ Pinki asked Lallu Kashyap to return Rs. 1,000/ - which was advanced to him by Rakesh when he needed money for medical treatment. Lallu Kashyap told that he had not recovered fully and would return the money once he recovered fully and started earning. The appellants are stated to have lost temper and Appellant No. 1 remarked that Lallu Kashyap should be taught a lesson. Consequently, Appellant No. 2 got a can of kerosene oil and poured kerosene on Lallu Kashyap. Appellant No. 1 lit fire with the help of a matchstick and set Lallu Kashyap on fire. Lallu Kashyap came out in the gali outside the house and rolled on the ground in order to douse the flames. After having successfully extinguished the flames, Lallu Kashyap went to the house of his sister Shiv Rani PW -1 at Bhajanpura and made the first dying declaration to her of how he was set on fire.