Roop Singh vs State Of Rajasthan

Appellant's wife Sua Devi was brought in a burnt condition to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, Jodhpur in the night of 30th May, 2008. Said information was passed on to the officer incharge, Police Thana, Basni. S.I. Lala Ram P.W.-17 was entrusted with the investigation. He reached the hospital and sought permission vide Exhibit-P23A from the doctor on duty to record statement of the injured. As recorded at point 'C' to 'D' in Exhibit-P23A proved during trial by S.I. Lala Ram, the doctor certified the patient fit for statement. Sua Devi's statement Exhibit-P22 was recorded. It is in vernacular. Translated it reads as under:

"On being inquired, Smt. Sua Devi has stated that Shri Ladu Singh S/o Shri Gokul Singh Caste Ravana Rajput, resident of Village Kurdi, P.S. Kurdi, District-Jaisalmer is my father. My marriage took place 12 years ago with Shri Roop Singh S/o Shri Ram Singh Ravana Rajput resident of Ganeshpura, Ratanada, Jodhpur.

After marriage, I am living with my husband Roop Singh. My husband sold the house of Ganeshpura and purchased house at Vasundhara Nagar, Jhalamand and stated living there. I have three children, my son Kishan Singh is 11 years old, son Arjun Singh is 8 years old and daughter Kanku is 6 years old. My husband Roop Singh is a jeep driver. He went out of station and came home after two months. Sometimes he used to gave money and sometimes didn't. This time he brought money. Some of this money was spent in payment of the household items, which was due to be paid. I kept the remaining money with me.

When he demanded money from me, I gave Rs.300/- and kept Rs.1000/- with me. Yesterday on dated 29.05.2003, my father Ladu Singh ji came to my home. My husband Roop Singh brought alcohol at 7 p.m. My husband Roop Singh and my father Shri Ladu Singh took alcohol together. Then my father Ladu Singh took dinner and went to sleep and my all three children also slept after eating dinner. Thereafter, my husband Roop Singh went outside home and came back with liquor. At about 11 P.m. he took the alcohol. Then he told me that called your papa (father) for taking you to your maternal home. Thereupon my papa said that I will take her in morning, where can I take her in the night. Then my husband Roop Singh told my father Ladu Singh that do not send her again. Thereafter, my papa slept. My husband beat me while pushing and jostling me and after pouring kerosene of the chimney upon me, with the intention to kill me, lit the match stick and set fire on my clothes. When I started to burn and screamed, my father came and he torned out burning clothes from my body and threw them away. My husband Roop Singh ran away from the house. While extinguishing the fire hands of my father Ladu Singh was also got burnt and my body was also got burnt by fire. Then my brother-in-law (jeth) Shri Rajendra Singh came. He blow out the fire by pouring bucket of water on me. This incident occurred at about 11.30 p.m. on 29.05.2003. Then my father Ladu Singh ji, brother-in-law Shri Rajendra Singh ji and sister-in-law took me from home and got me admitted to the hospital for treatment. Now my treatment is going on. Legal action should be taken against my husband Roop Singh."

Based on the statement made by Sua Devi FIR for an offence punishable under Section 307 IPC was registered. The Investigating Officer reached the scene of the crime and prepared the report which includes the site plan Annexure-P1. Relevant would be to highlight that no broken lantern has been seized from the room where Sua Devi was set on fire after kerosene was thrown on her. Information pertaining to Sua Devi was given to the Additional Judicial Magistrate who reached the hospital on 31.05.2008. He obtained a certificate of fitness on Exhibit-P12 at point A to B with signatures of the doctor at point C to D at 8.20 p.m. from the duty doctor to record Sua Devi's statement and recorded her statement Exhibit-P12. The same is in vernacular.

Translated it reads as under:-

"Question : What is your name?

Ans. : Sua Devi

Question : What is your husband's name?

Ans. : Roop Singh

Question : When did you get married?

Ans. : 12 years ago.

Question : How many children do you have?

Ans. : I have three children, Kishan, Arjun and daughter Santosh

Question : How did your this condition?

Ans. : My husband drives jeep. He comes home after several months. Sometimes he gives money and sometimes doesn't. This time he came home after two months and gave me money. My father Ladu Singh came yesterday noon. My husband brought liquor in the evening and he alongwith my father drinks alcohol. Then my father ate food but my husband did not eat food and he brought alcohol again at night. Till then my father and children slept. My husband drank alcohol and beat me and told me to get the money he had given to me. Firstly, I said that with that money I will pay bill of water, electricity and other household items but he did not believe, then I gave the money to him. Then he awakened my eldest boy Kishan and told him that go and call your Nana (grandfather). Then Kishan awaken my father who was sleeping outside. My husband told my father that now I do not want to keep your daughter and three children, take them away right now from here. Thereupon my father said that you are drunk now. By saying this my father went back and slept. But again my husband beat me up and said that I will burn you. My husband has been treating me like this for the last 6 years, so I thought he was just saying so but he poured kerosene of the chimney, which was lying in the room, on my clothes and litthe match stick and set me on fire. Resultantly, My clothes caught fire and I got burnt.

Question : Who blow out your fire?

Ans. : When I got fire I told my husband that I caught the fire, I will burn. Thereupon, he said that fire is set only to burn you and he did not make any effort to extinguish the fire. Then I screamed out. Thereupon my father, who was sleeping outside, came in running and tried to extinguish the fire with his hands but the fire did not extinguish completely. Thereafter, hearing hue and cry my brother-in-law Rajendra Singh came running and poured water by bucket upon me, which blow out the fire. During this time my husband remained sitting in the room.

Question : Who brought you to the hospital?

Ans. : My father, my sister-in-law Smt. Rajan Kanwar brought me to the hospital in a taxi.

Question : Who harass you in your family?

Ans. : Only my husband is harassing me for the last 5-6 years. He always spend money in drinking alcohol and did not give money for household goods. We had fight only on this issue. He always quarrel only in the drunken state.

Question : What else have you to say?

Ans. : Nothing"

As deposed by Devender Singh Bhati P.W.-9 the Additional Judicial Magistrate, he obtained the thumb impression of the right leg of the injured because both hands were burnt and the patient expressed pain if anybody touched the thumb.

Sua Devi unfortunately died due to the burn injuries on 04.06.2008. The body was seized and sent for post-mortem. The post-mortem report Exhibit-P21 records lower 2/3 of the chest and upper 2/3 of the abdomen burnt. Upper 2/3 on the front of both thighs being burned. Both hands being burned. The Investigating Officer recorded the statements of the relative persons in the house which included father-in-law of the appellant. They told the Investigating Officer that the appellant had burnt his wife. At the trial all relatives, as was expected, have turned hostile, even the father. But, relevant would it be to highlight that the father-in-law of the appellant i.e. the father of the deceased who turned hostile when he was examined as P.W.-2 and sought to justify hands being burnt by stating that a kerosene lantern fell due to which he suffered the burn injuries, during cross-examination on being declared hostile admitted that after the unfortunate incident in which his daughter died villagers intervened and told him to forget the past. He entered into a settlement. He admitted that on account of the compromise due to intervention of the villagers he was not telling the truth regarding his daughter being burnt by his son-in-law.

It is settled law that a dying declaration if it inspires confidence is sufficient evidence to determine the guilt of an accused. But, the Court has to be careful to analyze the dying declaration and look at the attended facts to rule out any possibility of tutoring and a motive to falsely implicate the accused. The first dying declaration Exhibit-P22 recorded by the Investigating Officer, contents whereof we have been noted hereinabove, have been preceded by the Investigating Officer obtaining a certificate from the duty doctor that Sua Devi was fit for making a statement. The contents of the statement which we have noted hereinabove are exhaustive and relevant it is to highlight that Sua Devi informed that while trying to extinguish the fire on the person the hands of her father Ladu Singh got burnt. Unfortunately, the prosecution did not obtain the MLC of Ladu Singh who obviously would have taken treatment for superficial burns on his hands. But, in his testimony Ladu Singh has deposed that his hands got burnt. To save his son-in-law he claimed that this was the result of a lantern fall.

As noted by us hereinabove, the site plan of the scene of the crime showed no broken lantern and thus none was seized. That apart as noted above Ladu Singh on being declared hostile in cross-examination stated that he was not telling the truth because of a compromise got effected with the intervention of the villagers. The second declaration of Sua Devi recorded by the Additional Judicial Magistrate, contents whereof have been noted hereinabove, is substantially the same as the first dying declaration. No blemish has been shown to us in the two dying declarations and thus we hold that based on the two dying declarations which inspire confidence, as made by the deceased, the prosecution has successfully established that the appellant, who was the husband of the deceased, caused her death by pouring kerosene oil on her and set her on fire.

But, Would the offence be of the murder, or culpable homicide, not amount to murder punishable under Part-I of Section 304 IPC?

A perusal of the two dying declarations of the deceased would show that the appellant was a jeep driver. He would mostly remain out of station. On return, sometimes he would bring money and sometimes not. This time he had brought money.

Part of it was used to pay dues for the household items. Remaining deceased had kept with her. Her father was in the house. The males were drinking. After the drinking session her father took dinner and slept. Her husband brought more liquor. He thereafter told her father to take her to the parental house. Her father said that he will take her in the morning. A quarrel ensued. The appellant threw kerosene on her and set her on fire.

Thus, it is not a case where the appellant acted with a premeditated mind. Under the influence of the liquor he had verbal altercation with his wife and on the spur of the moment he threw kerosene on the frontal part of his wife and set her on fire.

Since everything happened all of a sudden upon a sudden quarrel and there being no premeditation, we hold that the offence committed by the appellant is culpable homicide and not amounting to murder punishable under Part-I of Section 304 IPC.

Nothing that for the offence of murder, the appellant had been sentence to undergo imprisonment for life, we dispose of the appeal modifying the conviction of the appellant by convicting him for the offence punishable under Part-I of Section 304 IPC and impose a sentence to undergo 10 years R.I. The appellant has already undergone a sentence of about 10 years and 5 months R.I., we thus direct the appellant to be set free forthwith unless he is required in custody in some other case.