STATE OF H.P. Vs. SUKHDEV SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD and gone through the record.

(2.) RESPONDENT Sukhdev Singh is the husband, respondent Vyasa Devi mother-in-law, respondent Omi Devi and respondent Sudesh Kumari sisters-in-law of deceased Babita who died on 4-3-1990 as a result of burn injuries received by her in an incident of fire that took place on 18-2- 1990. The deceased was taken to the District Hospital Dharamshala on 18- 2-1990 with 70% burn injuries. At the time she was shifted to the Hospital, she was unfit to make statement. However, she was fit to make statement on 20-2-1990, per opinion Exhibit PC/1 of Dr. R.K. Chaudhary (PW2). Thereafter, statement of the deceased was recorded by Sub Divisional Magistrate, Dharamshala. The record of that statement is Exhibit PD. According to this statement, the deceased poured kerosene on herself from Whether reporters of the Local papers are allowed to see the judgment? a lamp and set herself afire. She stated that nobody was responsible for this act of hers and that in fact, at times, she used to have the feeling either to kill herself or some one else and she happened to commit the act in a moment of the aforesaid kind of feeling. On 1-3-1990, an application, purporting to be thumb impressed by the deceased, was submitted to S.D.M. Dharamshala in which it was stated that at the time of making statement Exhibit PD, the deceased was not in her senses, as her condition was not good and so she wanted to make a fresh statement narrating exact details of the incident. Upon receiving the said application, S.D.M. again visited the Hospital and recorded her fresh statement, Exhibit PF, in which the deceased got recorded that some time after the marriage, her husband, her mother-in-law and her sisters-in-law (husband's sisters) started ill- treating her and demanded Rs. 15,000/- on account of dowry and that her husband's elder brother's wife named Guddi who had illicit relations with her husband respondent Sukhdev, also started ill-treating her. She stated that her parents could not pay the demanded amount of Rs. 15,000/- and paid only Rs. 2000/-, but the respondents continued to insist for payment of the remaining amount. She also stated that on the fateful day, when she was cleaning utensils in the kitchen in the after-noon, her husband came there with kerosene in a plastic cane and poured the kerosene on her and then set her on fire. She further stated that she cried for help but none of the respondents, who were present in the house, came to the kitchen to extinguish the fire and that only an old man, who is a brother of her father- in-law, came along-with some other persons and extinguished the fire. She stated that her earlier statement (Exhibit PD) was not true and that she made such statement under pressure from her husband and mother-in-law who told that in case she made a statement implicating them, they would not provide any money on her treatment. The same day, she made another statement (Exhibit PH) to the Station House Officer, namely Shri N.D. Sharma (PW4), the contents of which are similar to Exhibit PF. The only variation in Exhibit PF and the statement Exhibit PH made to PW4 N.D. Sharma is that in Exhibit PF, it is recorded that the statement Exhibit PD had been made under pressure from the mother-in-law and the husband of the deceased while in Exhibit PH, it is recorded that at the time of making of the statement Exhibit PD, her husband and mother-in-law were present and nobody from her parents side was there and because of that she could not make the true statement.

(3.) TRIAL Court charged the respondents with offences under Section 302 and 304-B read with Section 34, Indian Penal Code and on their pleading not guilty, tried them for the aforesaid offences. At the end of the trial, all the respondents were acquitted with the finding that the dying declarations Exhibit PF and PH allegedly made by the deceased did not inspire confidence. State has filed this appeal challenging the acquittal of the respondents.