MARUTI RAMBHAU SHINDE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant alongwith five others was charged for the offence punishable under sections 147, 149 and under section 302 read with section 149 of the Indian Penal Code and in the alternative under section 302 read with section 34 of the I. P. C. By his judgment and order dated 29th February, 1992, the learned Sessions Judge acquitted accused Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the charges levelled against them. The appellant who is original accused No. 2 was convicted of the offence punishable under section 304 Part II of the I. P. C. He was sentenced to suffer R. I. for a period of five years and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/ -. In default of the payment of fine he was to undergo R. I. for a period of six months. He was acquitted of the remaining charges levelled against him. It is the said judgment and order, which is impugned in the present appeal by the appellant. For the sake of convenience appellant is hereinafter referred to as accused No. 2

(2.) AT the trial the case of the prosecution was as under. Deceased Ratnabai Baliram Shinde was married to accused No. 1 Baliram who is serving in the military. About a month prior to the incident in question he had come to the village on leave. Accused No. 1 and the deceased were residing with their children. Accused No. 2 used to reside in a neighbouring house.

(3.) ON 30-4-1990, at about 5 p. m. the deceased, her daughter Usha and son Dattu went to sleep. In the early morning of 1-5-1990, she heard the noise of roof tiles. One of the tiles fell down on the earth. Accused No. 2 came through the roof and opened the latch of the door from inside. Accused No. 3 and accused No. 6 came in the house. They took the children to the house of accused No. 2. Accused No. 2 told her that her conduct was not proper and that she had illicit relations with one Dashrath Pol residing nearby. He poured kerosene from a bottle on her person and set her on fire with the matchstick. The remaining accused caught hold of her. She shouted and, therefore, the other villagers came there. They poured water on her person. Time was about 5 a. m. Her mother and sister Sulochana came from Diwale-Bhor at 8 a. m. She narrated the incident to them. Thereafter she was taken in the jeep of accused No. 1 to Sassoon Hospital, Pune, where she was admitted. Dr. Raghunath Sonawane working as a Casulty Medical Officer in Ward No. 27, examined her and recorded the history. She had received 82% burns. However, she was fully conscious. Police Head Constable Gokul Wani was on duty on that day at Sassoon Hospital Police Chowky. After receiving the information through Police Constable Sawant, who was on duty at Sassoon Hospital Police Booth to the effect that deceased was admitted in Ward No. 27 as a burn case, he arranged for Special Judicial Magistrate for the purpose of recording her dying declaration.