ASHOK MACHINDRA KAMBLE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 5th May, 2004 rendered by the 5th Adhoc Additional Sessions Judge, Pune in Sessions Case No. 163 of 2003 by which the appellant-accused has been convicted for the offence punishable under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for the life and to pay fine of Rs. 1,000/- and in default to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for three months. The accused came to be arrested in connection with this offence on 23.3.2003 and since then he is behind the bar.

(2.) The prosecution case in brief is as follows : the accused alongwith his wife - Shobha and four children were residing in Anand Nagar area at Pune. The deceased - Shobha used to earn her livelihood by collecting waste papers. According to the prosecution, the accused was doing nothing. It is alleged that four days prior to incident the accused had brought one woman by name Kusum in the house and on that count there was quarrel between the accused and the deceased, and that the deceased had driven Kusum out of the house. On that count, it is alleged that the accused was annoyed with the deceased, and on 23.2.2003 in the afternoon he again picked up quarrel and at 4pm when Shobha was sleeping in the house, he sprinkled kerosene from the stove and set her on fire and fled. The deceased - Shobha came out of the house shouting for help, when her son - Vishal extinguished the fire. The deceased told P.W.1 - Nagarbai Shinde that her husband poured kerosene and set her ablaze. The deceased - Shobha was taken to hospital by the police. In the hospital her statement was recorded by Sunil More - P.W.3, the investigating officer. The statement of the deceased recorded by P.W.3 (Exhibit-13) was treated as an FIR and on the basis thereof the offence under section 302 came to be recorded at Wanowadi police station being C.R. No.38 of 2003. Initially the offence was registered under section 307 of IPC and after the deceased succumb to the injuries, it was converted into section 302 of IPC. The investigation was carried out by P.W. 3 - Sunil More, and after completion thereof he filed charge-sheet against the accused in the court of J.M.F.C. Cantonment Court, Pune. Since the offence was exclusively triable by the court of Sessions, the case was committed to the court of Sessions for trial. After the charge was framed against accused he pleaded not guilty. The defence propounded by the accused was of total denial. According to the accused, Shobha was addicted to liquor and since on the date of incident he had refused to pay any amount for liquor, she implicated him falsely. Thereby in defence, the accused suggested that Shobha committed suicide, and has falsely implicated the accused as assailant.

(3.) The trial Court convicted the accused on the basis of oral dying declarations made to P.W. 1 - Nagarbai Shinde and Vidya Kamble - P.W. 2, the daughter of the deceased, and so also the written dying declarations recorded by P.W.1 - Sunil More and P.W. 4 - Shivaji Dharpure, the Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Cantonment Court, Pune, holding that all the dying declarations are consistent and prove beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the accused.