SHAUKIN JAFFER SAYED Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is preferred against the conviction and sentence of the accused under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. The II Additional Sessions Judge, Palghar, while imposing the sentence of life imprisonment has also directed the accused to pay a fine of Rs.1,000/-.

(2.) The prosecution has alleged that the accused his wife and child had dinner in restaurant. After returning home, the accused quarrelled with his wife on some petty issue. The quarrel occurred because of the intake of alcohol by the accused. The accused, in the midst of the quarrel, emptied the kerosene from a stove on his wife and set her ablaze. She shouted for help and the accused tried to extinguish the fire. He opened the door of the house when she came out, having sustained extensive burns. The accused and his son Gaurav rushed to the victim s mother and brother for help. They then removed the victim to Sanjivani Hospital at Virar for treatment. On admission to the hospital, police were informed that the victim had been burnt by her husband. The police then requested the Special Executive Officer to record the dying declaration of the victim. Accordingly, the Special Executive Officer arrived at the hospital between 2.00 and 2.30 am on 2.6.2002 and recorded the statement of the victim. On the basis of this statement, an offence was registered under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code. The accused was arrested. The requisite panchanamas were drawn. The victim died on 5.7.2002 when she succumbed to the burn injuries sustained by her. The accused was then tried for having murdered his wife.

(3.) To prove its case, the prosecution has relied on the testimony of five witnesses. The first witness examined by the prosecution is a child witness who is the son of the accused and the victim. This witness, Gaurav, has described the manner in which his father set his mother ablaze. However, his entire testimony is set at nought by the witness when he admitted that it was because he was residing with his grandmother and maternal uncle that he had stated that his mother was killed by his father by setting her ablaze. Therefore, the testimony of this witness is of no avail to the prosecution.