STATE OF J&K Vs. JOGINDER LAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WE have heard Mr. Ashok Parihar, learned Additional Advocate General, for the appellant. Nobody appeared for the respondents.

(2.) THIS Criminal Acquittal Appeal is directed against the order passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Jammu dated 25 -7 -1983. By the aforesaid order, the learned Sessions Judge acquitted the accused, Joginder Lal, for offence under Section 302 RPC.

(3.) THE facts of the prosecution case in nutshell are that, the accused, Goginder Lal had to go to Srinagar on 13 -6 -1981 to perform his work as Painter and demanded some money from his wife Mst. Rekha Kumari, to meet the expenses of the journey. His wife, however, declined as she had no money with her. The accused wanted the household utensil (Brass Bultoi) to be sold in order to fetch some money, but deceased Rekha Kumari resisted and did not allow him to do so. The accused, however, felt insulted and humiliated and in order to do away with his wife, he lifted bottle containing kerosene oil and poured it on the body of Mst. Rekha Kumari and set her ablaze. The accused thereafter fled away from the place of occurrence. The hue and cry raised by the deceased attracted the people from the neighborhood, who extinguished the fire. After sometime, the accused also returned and deplored his wife to save her. He removed his wife with burn injuries in a taxi to the hospital. It is also alleged by the prosecution that the accused earlier also used to chastise his wife, Mst. Rekha Kumari and about which the father of Rekha Kumari had got a report entered in Police Station, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu on 22/9/1980. The statement of Mst. Rekha Kumari was recorded by the police in the hospital on 13.6.1981 on the basis of which a case under section 307 RPC stood initially registered. Subsequently, Mst. Rekha Kumari, deceased, could not withstand to the burn injuries and died in the hospital on 14 -6 -1981 and the offence stood converted from section 307 RPC to section 302 RPC against the accused. On the conclusion of the investigation, challan against the accused came to be presented before Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jammu, who in turn committed the same for offence under section 302 RPC exclusively triable by the court of Session. The accused was charge -sheeted for offence under section 302 RPC by the learned Sessions Judge, Jammu vide his order dated 31 -8 -1980 and after the completion of the Trial, the learned Sessions Judge found that there is no evidence connecting the accused with the commission of the offence and acquitted him of the charge vide order dated 25 -7 -1983.