STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. KANTIBHAI BABABHAI PANCHAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The respondent accused was charged with an offence punishable under Sec. 302 of I. P. C. for having caused death of his wife by pouring kerosene over her and putting her to fire. The learned trial Judge has acquitted him mainly relying on the first statement made by the deceased herself before the Medical Officer which is recorded in the hospital case papers Ex. 36 by Dr. G. N. Thakkar, P.W. 9 as follows :

(2.) The learned A.P.P. appearing for the State has submitted that the dying declaration was recorded by the Executive Magistrate at Ex. 7 and in that statement, she has stated that about '11-30 in the morning, she was in the house and her husband (accused) was sitting near primus for rolling rotis. He was rolling rotis and he stated that he would burn her. Therefore, she herself gave him a kerosene can and she was sitting by the side of her husband and he poured kerosene over her and pushed the lighted stove towards her and her clothes caught fire. Her husband immediately poured water from the water pot and put off the fire. On the basis of this dying declaration, the learned A. P. P. has submitted that the accused has intentionally caused death of his wife and committed the offence punishable under Sec. 302 of I. P. C.

(3.) Except the crucial fact as to how she caught fire, the rest of the findings are not in dispute. The accused and the deceased, i.e., husband and wife were married since 15 to 20 years and had three children; eldest son being 14 years of age. The deceased was 39 years old. Since about four years prior to the incident, the deceased was totally unemployed and was having no income as the factory in which he was working had closed down. The wife used to do miscellaneous domestic work to earn something and because of the economic hardships and miseries, there were frequent quarrels and as stated by the son Shailesh, the accused used to go away to his village on such occasions. On the date of the incident, the wife was washing clothes and the husband was cooking and preparing rotis and was sitting near the lighted primus. At that time, there was some quarrel and the accused had stated that he would burn and the wife had herself offered a kerosene can by challenging him to do so. Such kerosene is said to have been poured on her by the accused-husband. The stove was already burning and she had caught fire (the question is whether it was accidental or by the husband pushing the stove deliberately towards her). Immediately the accused-husband poured water over her and put off the fire and he himself took her to the hospital and thereafter he himself went to her relatives to inform them.