PRASAD Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A woman, married, with a child, suffered 60% burns and succumbed after about seven days. It was no accident and either she immolated herself or the accused did it. Whoever it be, the cause allegedly is retaliation for not reciprocating the love of one for the other. The prosecution case is that the victim, with whom the accused had prior acquaintance from the hospital where they were working, was abducted and taken to his house. Inside his house, he proposed to her and she declined, which resulted in the accused pouring petrol over her and setting her ablaze. The defence is that the deceased set herself ablaze, inside the parental house of the accused since he resisted her advances and demands to get into a proper marriage; a vengeance proper.

(2.) Sri.P.Vijayabhanu, learned Senior Counsel instructed by Smt. Pooja Pankaj appeared for the appellant and Smt.S.Ambikadevi, learned Special Government Pleader [Atrocities against Women and Children and Welfare of Women and Children] appeared for the State.

(3.) Learned Senior Counsel took us through the entire evidence and pointed out that the occurrence witnesses turned hostile. Yet another aspect was the dying declarations made, as evidenced in Ext.P18 wound certificate of the deceased and the testimony of PW23, the husband of the accused and PW24, a co-worker of the deceased. As far as Ext.P18 is concerned, there are interpolations and PW15, the doctor who examined the deceased first, clearly deposed that she was unconscious. There was no challenge to the statement in cross-examination made by the prosecution. PW3 and PW4, who had seen the victim immediately after the burn injury, testified that she was unconscious. PW9, the brother of the victim, does not speak of any dying declaration. As far as the testimony of PWs.23 and 24, the condition of the victim who suffered 60% burns has not been proved by the prosecution. The victim suffered burns on 21.02.2009, to which she succumbed on 28.02.2009. She was throughout admitted to the Medical College Hospital [MCH], Kozhikode. Neither the treatment chart nor a doctor's certificate was produced to show that she was mentally and physically fit to make the dying declaration. PW23 and PW24 did not speak about the dying declaration to the police when the 161 statement was recorded.