JETHI DEVI Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The accused-appellant in this appeal, through Jail, has been convicted and sentenced as below vide judgment of conviction and order of sentence dtd. 3/12/2014 passed by the learned District and Sessions Judge, Jaisalmer (Raj.), in Session Case No.02/2013:

(2.) Brief facts of the case are that on 25/10/2012, in morning, the accused-appellant, wife of Chautharam Lohar, r/o Ramdevra had a fight with her sister-in-law i.e. Kamla Devi (hereinafter referred to as 'deceased') in relation to some firewood, and in connection therewith, the accused-appellant abused the deceased and threatened to kill her and her children; whereafter, the accused-appellant poured kerosene on Kamla Devi and set the deceased on fire, due to which the deceased severely burnt. Thereafter, the deceased was referred to the Government Community Health Centre, Pokran and information regarding the incident in question was given to PW-15- Hukam Singh, SHO of Police Station, Ramdevra, and then the dying declaration Exhibit15 was recorded by PW-15 and then one more dying declaration Exhibit-24 was also recorded in presence of PW-16-Tilok Chand, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, and thereafter, on the same day the FIR bearing No. 11/12 (Ex.-22) was registered under Sec. 307 IPC and the site of the incident in question was inspected, during course of which one Iron Tin, Matchbox, and half burnt clothes of the deceased were recovered; also the Naksha Mauka (Ex.-17) was also prepared by the investigating agency. Thereafter, the deceased was referred to the Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, Jodhpur, where she expired on very next day i.e 26/10/2012.

(3.) Learned counsel for the accused-appellant submitted that the accused-appellant was convicted solely on the basis of the dying declarations EX-15 and EX-24, and except for such dying declarations, there are no eye-witnesses to the incident, who stated that the accused-appellant was involved in the crime in question.