RAM PARKASH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appeal has been filed by the Appellant, Ram Parkash @ Bittoo challenging his conviction vide judgment and sentence dated 25th January, 2002 under Section 304B and 498A read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. it is relevant to note that the trial court record, in the present case, is not available. Repeated attempts were made to reconstruct the record especially as the appeal was of the year 2002. However, the trial court finally submitted a report saying that the record is not traceable in the Tis Hazari Courts. Thus, the only record available is the judgment of the trial court. The appeal is thus being decided merely on the basis of the impugned judgement as no other record is traceable.

(2.) Ram Parkash was married to Smt. Vandna on 29th June, 1997. The incident took place on 4th December, 1998. On 5th December, 1998, she died an unnatural death.

(3.) The incident, as reported by the first witness who reached the spot i.e. PW-4, Shri Gurmail Singh is that he was running a grocery shop in the vicinity of the house where the accused and the deceased lived. In the morning, between 10 a.m. to 10.30 a.m., while he was present in his shop, he was informed of smoke rising from the house of the accused. He reached the spot and found that the victim, Vandna was in flames and her child was lying on a cot in the outside veranda of the house. At the time he reached the premises, there was no one present in the house. He called the police and then called the father of Smt. Vandna. By the time, the parents reached the house she had been taken to Safdarjung Hospital. The victim gave three statements. The first statement was given at 11.45 a.m. The second statement was given in the afternoon and the third statement was given late in the evening at about 8.10 p.m.