STATE OF PUNJAB Vs. SAVITRI DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SMT. Savitri Devi accused-respondent was put on trial in the Court of the Sessions Judge, Ludhiana, under Section 302, I. P. C. , for having caused the murder of her daughter-in-law Smt. Kamal Kanta, a resident of Shivji Nagar, Ludhiana. The learned Sessions Judge after recording the evidence of the prosecution and hearing the arguments rejected the entire prosecution case and held that the prosecution case and held that the prosecution had miserably failed to prove the case against the accused and he accordingly acquitted her by his lucid and an elaborate judgment dated June 9, 1980. The State of Punjab thereafter filed an appeal against the order of acquittal passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Ludhiana. The appeal was heard by a Division Bench of this Court consisting of C. S. Tiwana, J. , and myself. After hearing the parties' counsel, this appeal was referred to a larger Bench for decision vide reference order dated May 20, 1982.

(2.) FOR the reasons which will appear hereinafter, it is necessary to maintain the homogeneity of this judgment by giving an independent narration of the facts. As has already been referred to, Smt. Kamal Kanta (deceased), aged about 16 years, was married to Inder Mohan son of Smt. Savitri Devi, accused-respondent about 6 months prior to the present occurrence. It is said that the brought by the deceased at the time of her marriage. The prosecution version is that on 11-11-1979 at about 10. 00 a. m. , Smt. Kamal Kanta and the accused were present in their house. Nand Kishore, husband of the accused, had gone to attend the Satsang. The accused asked Smt. Kamal Kanta to prepare tea for her and the letter lighted the Angithi in the court-yard of the house and kept a pot containing water on it to boil. Thereafter, Smt. Kamal Kanta entered the kitchen, with a view to bring sugar and the found that the accused was following her into the kitchen. The accused started abusing Smt. Kamal Kanta and told her that she would set her on fire. After uttering these words, she picked up a container, sprinkled kerosene oil on the clothes of Smt. Kamal Kanta and set her on fire with a match-sick. Smt. Kamal Kanta, with her clothes on fire, come out of the kitchen and tired to run away in a bid to extinguish the fire and in that process, she stumbled and fell down in the lane. Her husband Inder Mohan and some persons residing in the neighbourhood extinguished the fire by putting sand on her.

(3.) SMT. Kamal Kanta was removed to the C. M. C. Hospital, Ludhiana, by her husband where she was admitted at about 11. 10 a. m. Dr. R. K. Pandey, who examined her in the hospital, sent intimation to the Station House offer, Police Station Division No. 3, Ludhiana. Sub-Inspector Manohar Lal, Station House Officer, Police Station Industrial Area, Ludhiana, reached the C. M. C. Hospital at about 5. 30 p. m. , to record the statement of Kamal Kanta, who was then lying in the Burn Unit of the hospital. Dr. Rakesh Khazanchi, Registrar, Department of Surgery, declared her fit to make a statement at 5. 50 p. m. Sub-Inspector Manohar Lal then recorded her statement, Exhibit P. Q. , which formed the basis of the formal First Information Report, Exhibit P. Q. /2 registered at the police station at 6. 45 p. m. Manohar Lal went to the house of the accused at about 7 p. m. and recovered a container containing about 2 litres of kerosene oil lying in the kitchen and a chunni, which was partially burnt, from the court-yard of the house. Manohar Lal moved an application for recording the dying declaration of Smt. Kamal Kanta, Shri I. C. Aggarwal, Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Ludhiana, visited the hospital at about 2. 30 p. m. for recording her statement but she was found unfit to make a statement, Smt. Kamal Kanta expired in the hospital on 14-11-1979 at about 3 a. m. The Sub-Inspector held inquest and sent the dead body to the mortury for autopsy.