Evidence Act, 1872 – s.32 – Dying declaration – Evidentiary value – Prosecution case that owing to marital discord between the parties, the respondent-husband allegedly poured kerosene on his wife at their residence and set her on fire – Some villagers rushed to her rescue and the respondent also attempted to extinguish the fire – Wife was rushed to the hospital where she succumbed to her burn injuries, after a month – Tehsildar had recorded the dying declaration of the wife – Trial court convicted the respondent for the offence punishable u/s. 302 IPC and sentenced him to imprisonment for life – High Court acquitted the respondent by extending to him the benefit of doubt – Correctness:
Held: Dying declaration inspires full confidence – Declaration clearly and unequivocally attributes the act of pouring kerosene oil and igniting the fire to the respondent – It bears the thumb impression of the deceased and was recorded in the presence of senior officers – No material on record suggestive of tutoring, coercion or manipulation – In any event, the law does not prescribe any rigid form for recording a dying declaration – So long as the Court is satisfied that the declaration is voluntary, truthful and reliable, hyper-technical objections cannot form the basis for its rejection – Dying declaration itself refers to persistent matrimonial discord and ill-treatment thereby furnishing a plausible background for the commission of the offence – Upon an overall appraisal of the evidence, the dying declaration of the deceased, voluntary, truthful and reliable – It was recorded by a competent authority at a time when the deceased was conscious, oriented and capable of making a statement – Minor discrepancies highlighted by the High Court do not create any dent in the credibility of the dying declaration – Plea of self-immolation on behalf of the respondent does not inspire the confidence – Thus, the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the respondent committed the offence punishable u/s.302 IPC – Trial court correctly relied upon the dying declaration and the surrounding circumstances to record the conviction of the respondent – High Court erred in discarding this crucial piece of evidence on speculative and hyper-technical grounds and in placing undue reliance on the testimonies of hostile and defence witnesses – It cannot be said that a dying declaration must invariably be discarded in the absence of corroboration – Each case must necessarily turn on its own facts – High Court erred in reversing the well-reasoned judgment of conviction recorded by the trial court by re-appreciating the evidence in a manner contrary to the settled principles governing appellate interference – Impugned judgment of acquittal passed by the High Court set aside – Judgment of conviction and order of sentence passed by the trial court restored. [Paras 17-27]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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