VITHAL BABANI SANGOLKAR Vs. STATE OF MAHATRASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant herein bas been charged of an offence under section 436 I.P.C. on the ground that on 21st March, 1986 at about midnight, be set fire to the dwelling house of the complainant Seeta Tukaram Gadkar causing her a loss of about Rs. 5.0 00/-.

(2.) The prosecution case has been that the appellant has been living with the complainant Seeta for a few years, although he was not married to her. About one and half years prior to the incident, Seeta stopped her illicit relations with the appellant and caused him to leave her house. This gave cause to strained relations and from time to time, the appellant was going to the house of Seeta and assaulting her. On the day of the incident, at about 6 p.m., the appellant saw Seeta in the house of P.W. 7 Vaman Morajkar and soon after she left the house of P.W. 7 he followed her. Once she reached her residence at Raja, the appellant assaulted her and threatened to set fire to the house. On the same night, at about midnight, the house of the complainant was set on fire and the accused was seen on the spot.

(3.) The appellant pleaded not guilty to the charge, his case being that he is innocent and that the complainant has deliberately set fire to her own house in order to cause him to return to live with her. It is further his case that he and Seeta had been living as husband and wife for 10 to 12 years and one and half years prior to the incident, they had started to live separately because Seeta had an affair with another man.