RAMESH MANI DEVENDRA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellants, original accused persons, by this appeal have questioned the correctness of their conviction and sentence, thereby challenging the judgment and order dated 7 August 2007 passed by the 12th Adhoc Additional Sessions Judge, Sewree, Mumbai in Sessions Case No. 632 of 2006, thereby convicting the appellant for an offence punishable under Section 498 -A read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and are sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 3 years each and to pay fine of Rs.2000/ - each, in default of which to suffer rigorous imprisonment FOR 9 months and are further convicted for an offence punishable under Section 302 read with 34 of IPC and to suffer rigorous imprisonment of life and to pay a fine of Rs.5000/ - each in default of which to suffer rigorous imprisonment of 1 year and 10 months each. It has been further ordered that their substantive sentences shall run concurrently.

(2.) THE facts which give rise to the present appeal can be summarized as under: (i) PW -10 PSI Shri Shivaji Auwati then attached to Antop Hill police station, Mumbai, on 17.4.2006 at about 8.10 pm had received a telephone from Central Control Room informing him that some persons have set on fire one lady in the hutments in front of Shiv Sena branch no.45, Antop Hill, Mumbai. He accordingly made entry about the said fact in the station diary, gave information about the said fact to his superior officers and immediately went to the spot of incident along with this staff. After reaching the spot of incident, he noticed that the said incident had taken place on the loft of house no.90 in the said hutment areai and the victim lady was already taken to the hospital by her relatives. He thereafter posted the police staff at the spot of incident and rushed to the Sion Hospital. After reaching to the hospital, he was informed by the staff of the Sion Hospital that the doctor had already declared victim Geeta @ Laxmi Ramesh Devendra as dead. He thereafter enquired with the parents of the deceased Geeta about the incident. Upon which, Smt. Indira, the mother of Geeta told him that the husband of Geeta i.e. appellant no.1, his brother the appellant no.2 and mother of appellant no.1 i.e. appellant no.3 herein poured kerosene on the person of Geeta and set her ablaze. PW -10 PSI Shri Shivaji Auwati thereafter recorded the statements of the mother of the deceased Geeta namely Smt. Indira Appau Tewar (PW -1) as per her say. The contents of the said complaint were read over to PW -1 Indira, the mother of deceased in Hindi language and after she admitted the contents thereof as true and correct, he obtained her signature and put his signature. The said complaint is at Exhibit 14. PW -10 PSI Shri Shivaji Auwati thereafter gave the information about the said complaint to Antop Hill police station on telephone and PSI Kadam registered crime no.92 of 2006 under Section 498 -A and 302 read with Section 34 of IPC. (ii) PW -10 PSI Shri Shivaji Auwati thereafter started investigating the said crime. He prepared inquest panchanama of the dead body of Geeta which is at Exhibit 17. He also seized the burnt pieces of clothes, hair and a pair of toe rings and pair of anklet of deceased Geeta as per the panchanama and sent dead body of Geeta for postmortem examination. PW -10 PSI Shri Shivaji Auwati along with police inspector Shri Surve and other police staff went to the police station. PW - Indira, mother of deceased Geeta, showed the spot of incident to the police personnel. PW -10 PSI Shri Shivaji Auwati thereafter prepared the spot panchanama in the presence of two panchas and seized the pieces of bangles, half burnt pieces of clothes of Geeta, can of kerosene, half burnt match box, bundle of half burnt hairs from the spot of incident. The said panchanama of scene of incident i.e. spot panchanama is at Exhibit 21. PW -10 PSI Shri Shivaji Auwati thereafter arrested the appellants vide arrest panchanama which is at Exhibit 18. PW -10 PSI Auwati recorded the statement of father of Geeta namely Mr. Appau Kutty Tewar (PW -2) as per his say and handed over further investigation to PI Shri Sanjay Surve (PW -11) as per the orders of the superior officer. (iii) PW -11 PI Sanjay Surve was then attached to Antop Hill police station. On 19.4.2006, he had received investigation of crime no.92 of 2006 punishable under Section 498A and 302 read with Section 34 of IPC. He then visited the vicinity of spot of incident for recording statements of witnesses. PW -11 PI Surve recorded the statements of Maniganda Raju Devendra and Anandraj Nagraj Devendra as per their say. On 20.4.2006, he recorded statements of Akash Rajendra Swami and Krishna Appau Tewar as per their say. On 3.6.2006, he recorded statements of witnesses Smt. Radha Mariappa Devendra and Smt. Chitra Marimutum Devendra as per their say. During the course of investigation, he collected other material such as postmortem report and other reports and after finding that there was sufficient evidence against all the appellants, he submitted a final report as contemplated under Section 173(2) of Cr. P.C. before the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate, 11th Court, Kurla, Mumbai. (iv) On committal case to the Court of Sessions, the Trial Court framed charge below Exhibit 3 under Section 498 -A read with Section 34 and under Section 302 read with 34 of IPC.

(3.) IN order to effectively deal with the submissions advanced before us by Smt. Anjali Patil, the learned Counsel for the appellants and Mr. H.J. Dedhia, the learned APP, it is necessary to scrutinize the evidence of the prosecution witnesses.