PRAKASH BABURAO SHELAR Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal preferred by the appellant-accused against the judgment and order dated 22nd February, 1989 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Pune, in Session Case No. 33 of 1988 holding the appellant guilty of commission for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian penal Code and sentencing him to undergo imprisonment for life vide Section 235 of the code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

(2.) The prosecution case, in brief, is to the effect that the appellant-accused was married to the deceased on 1st June, 1985 at pune, at which time the deceased was serving as Clerk at Shivaji Nagar Head Post Office, pune, where as the accused was serving as a clerk in the State Bank of India, Chinchwad branch, Chinchwad, Pune. After the marriage, the accused and the deceased started residing at the residence of the parents of the accused located at Sindhunagar area of Nigadi. Both stayed in the joint family of the parents of the accused for about 5 to 6 months. Thereafter, the couple could not live with the parents of the appellant-accused, and therefore, they started residing separately. It is the prosecution case that thereafter the accused started ill-treating the deceased and started harassing her on trivial causes. The deceased some times used to inform her parents and the brother about the ill-treatment to which she was subjected by her in-laws whenever she used to visit her parents. Raghunath (P. W. 6) , the father of the deceased, tried to pacify the accused and advised him not to quarrel with his wife and requested them to spend happy life, but in vain. It is the further case of the prosecution that on 17th May, 1987, there was a marriage ceremony at the relative's place at Uruli. P. W. 6 raghunath was also invited for the marriage. He also said that the accused and the deceased had also gone to Uruli-Kanchan on motor bike to attend the marriage ceremony. Vijay, the eldest brother of the deceased, was also present in the said marriage. It is the prosecution case that there was some quarrel between the couple at that place, and therefore, they returned to their home on the next day by noon time.

(3.) On the fateful day i. e. 18th May, 1987 in between 2. 00 to 2.30 p. m. , it is alleged that the accused poured kerosene on her person and lit it with match stick, as a result of which she was set ablaze and sustained burn injuries. At that time, the accused claimed that he was cleaning the motor bike outside the room. As a result of flames of the fire, the deceased sustained 98 per cent burn injuries to almost all parts of her body. She also came running outside the house probably to save her life. She also raised hue and cry which attracted the attention of the others from the adjoining building. The deceased, therefore, stopped near the place where the waste water was spread. Hearing the commotion and hue and cry, the neighbour Geeta Gajanan Natu, P. W. 4, and others gathered and the neighbours tried to douse the fire. Thereafter, the accused bought rickshaw and took the deceased to Lokmanya hospital at Chinchwad. The accused at that time also informed the brother of the deceased about the incident, who in turn, informed the p. W. 6 Raghunath, the father of the deceased about it. Thereafter, the doctor from Lokmanya hospital gave preliminary treatment to the deceased and considering the injuries and percentage of the burns, advised to remove the patient to the other hospital. Hence, the accused person took his wife in burnt condition to Ruby hall Clinic, Pune. P. W. 6 and P. W. 7, the father and brother of the deceased, respectively, also rushed from Lokmanya Tilak Hospital to Ruby hall Clinic, where medical treatment was started. At the time of admission of the patient, p. W. 3 Dr. Ranade recorded the history of the case of accidental burns, the patient was admitted and the treatment commenced. According to the prosecution, the deceased had made disclosure to her father at Lokmanya tilak Hospital that it was the accused person who had poured the kerosene and set her on fire. Subsequent to the admission of the patient to Ruby Hall Hospital, Pune, the police were informed, who arranged for recording of dying declaration. The P. W. 2, the Special Judicial magistrate recorded the dying declaration of the deceased at 10. 55 p. m. on that very day wherein the deceased has clearly stated that the accused person poured the kerosene and set her on fire. On that basis, the offence punishable under Section 307 of the Indian penal Code was registered against the accused person who was put in the jail and the investigation was commenced in due course.