SURENDRA AGNIHOTRI Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant, being aggrieved by his conviction for offence under Section 306 IPC and sentence of R. I. for three years by the Sixth Addl. Sess. Judge, Jabalpur in S.T.No. 370/84 by judgment dated 19-12-1986, has preferred this appeal.

(2.) It is an admitted position that the deceased Indu Jain was an Advocate and attending the chamber of the appellant, who is also a lawyer, as his junior. Appellant used to regularly visit the deceased at her residence and he had intimate relationship with her family members. It is also not disputed that on 8-7-1984 at 8.30 a.m. appellant had gone to the residence of the deceased and both of them were talking in the drawing room. Before this, appellant was sitting in a saw mill where deceased came and took him to her residence. It is further an admitted position that during those days negotiation for marriage of the deceased was going on with a person at Gwalior. Admitted fact of the case further is that in the drawing room where the deceased and the appellant were sitting, deceased set on fire herself from where she was taken to the hospital and she died two hours thereafter. Appellant had gone with the deceased to the hospital. Besides the aforesaid facts, no other fact has been admitted.

(3.) According to the prosecution, appellant and the deceased were lawyers by profession and the deceased was the appellant's junior. This relationship developed into a love affair and appellant used to write love letters to her. According to the prosecution, the deceased became pregnant and pregnancy was aborted. Deceased also used to love appellant. Appellant is a married person having wife and children. According to the prosecution, the deceased was pressurising the appellant for marriage, which was being refused, by the appellant and, thereafter deceased threatened to commit suicide. Thereafter she went to a lady, got a matchbox from her and after pouring kerosene oil on her body, she set herself on fire. According to the prosecution, appellant stood in silence with folded hands out- side the drawing room and seeing the flame and the smoke, deceased's mother Parvatibai (PW 12) raised alarm whereupon deceased's brother Anand (PW 3), her sister Lata (PW 10) and friends of Anand came to the place of occurrence and found the deceased burning inside the room. Appellant, according to the prosecution, did not do anything and saw the entire scene from near the door. After the neighbours came, deceased was taken to the hospital and PW 3 Anand gave report to the police station. Deceased was examined by the doctor and her dying declaration was recorded (Ex. P-14). During investigation the police recovered photographs as also love letters written by the appellant to the deceased from her room. After investigation, police submitted charge-sheet against the appellant for offence under Section 306, IPC.