KULWANT SINGH ALIAS BITTOO Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant having been convicted in the Sessions Case No. 76/94 emanating from FIR No. 277/92, P.S. Tilak Nagar for an offence under Section 302 IPC and sentenced in terms of order dated 09.08.1994 to undergo imprisonment for life with a fine of Rs. 5000/- and in default of payment of fine, to undergo RI for a period of one and a half year, has preferred the instant appeal.

(2.) The facts in brief are that the appellant and Ms. Rani (hereinafter called 'deceased') were members of a dance group. The appellant had an infatuation with the deceased and wanted to marry her. His proposal for marriage was declined by Ms. Rani. On 17.05.92 at about 5.00 PM, appellant Kulwant Singh @ Bittoo called Ms. Rani to his House No. WZ-112, Sant Nagar, Tilak Nagar, New Delhi on the pretext of discussing an offer for a dance programme. There at his house, appellant threatened her saying that either she should consent to marry him or he would finish her. When she declined the offer, appellant poured acid upon her body and face with a bottle, and fled away after having bolted the door of the room from outside. It is further the case of the prosecution that in the process, the appellant also sustained acid burn injuries and he went away from the spot of occurrence in three-wheeler scooter of PW8 Kashmir Singh who noticed acid burns on his hands and on his enquiry, the appellant told him that he had to go to a Doctor. The appellant is stated to have alighted from the scooter at Khayala. PW7 Subhash and PW 16 Surender Kumar are stated to have heard the shrieks of appellant deceased, so they reached at the spot of occurrence and on seeing the door of the room of the appellant locked they broke the 'kunda' of the door and rescued Rani who had suffered acid burns.

(3.) It is further the case of prosecution that someone rang up Police Control Room and informed that a girl had been confined in a room of House No. WZ-112, Sant Nagar, after pouring acid on her. The information was conveyed to the Police Station Tilak Nagar and was recorded in the Daily Diary as DD n0.39-B dated 17.05.1992 (Ex.PW 13/A). SI Babu Ram, PW22 was entrusted to verify the DD report, who visited the said house along with Constable Atma Ram. He found the injured Rani present outside the aforesaid house with acid burns all over her body. He immediately sent Rani to DDU Hospital along with Constable Atma Ram. On enquiry at the spot, he came to know that public persons had rescued the girl from the room by breaking the lock and kunda of the door. SI Nawab Singh also reached at the spot. He left SI Nawab Singh there to protect the scene of crime and went to DDU Hospital. Dr. J.K. Tyagi, who had examined injured Rani, declared her fit for making statement and appended his endorsement to that effect on the MLC of Rani at about 6.30 PM. SI Babu Ram thereafter recorded the statement of injured Rani in presence of Dr. A.K. Seth, wherein she stated thus: