Supreme Court upholds life term of man who set wife afire: Why his daughter’s testimony sealed his fate

‘Crucial testimony, dying declaration’

• The accused is the person who started a quarrel with the victim and set her on fire.
• The daughter had seen her father bringing a kerosene tin, pouring it on her mother and setting her ablaze.
• His wife died due to the burn injuries after consciously making a dying declaration and naming the accused as the main culprit.
• The eldest daughter of the accused and the deceased, who was about 16-years old, is an eyewitness and has narrated the incident as she saw it, which is very crucial and material.
• She had clearly deposed that on the fateful night, she, her mother, sister and brothers were in their house.
• There is no doubt that the dying declaration of the woman was properly recorded, and she was in a state to make such a statement, and hence, there is no reason to disbelieve it.
• The victim may have been momentarily in an unconscious state due to the effect of sedatives.

• However, since her burn injuries were superficial, she was conscious most of the time and was in a fit state of mind to get her dying declaration recorded.
• The attending doctors have certified that she was in a fit position to make a statement, and then her dying declaration was recorded by the head constable concerned.
• In her dying declaration, the victim mentioned that her husband started treating her cruelly by abusing and beating her after three years of marriage.
• She further pointed out that on the day of the said incident, he quarrelled with her and forced her to get more money from her parents.
• She added that at night, he had a quarrel with her again when he assaulted her and set her on fire.
• She also pointed out that at the time of the incident, her four children were sleeping in the house, and on hearing her cries, they went to their grandmother’s house and called her.

‘80-90% burns, cruelty’

• The post-mortem report and the statement of one of the doctors establish that the victim died of septicaemia (blood poisoning) as a result of 80-90 per cent burn injuries, which were superficial.
• The police had recovered a matchbox, a kerosene tin and burnt cloth pieces from the site of the incident.
• The victim and the accused were married for 17 years and frequently quarrelled over money.
• It has also been placed on record that the accused used to beat and treat the victim with cruelty.
• He made regular demands for money.
• The facts and the evidence clearly establish that the accused was dissatisfied and suffered from frustration and had a motive to kill the victim.

‘17 years of marriage, fights’

• The couple, married for 17 years, had two daughters and two sons.
• The eldest daughter was about 16 years old at the time of the said incident.
• It was claimed that the couple’s relations became strained after three years of marriage, and it was alleged that the husband started ill-treating the woman.
• It was further alleged that he kept demanding money and it was fulfilled most of the time by the wife’s father.
• The accused allegedly even started treating his wife with cruelty.
• He had an alleged fight with the woman on the night of July 20, 2000.
• The accused, allegedly in anger, went out and fetched some kerosene and poured it on the victim in a bathroom.
• After burning the victim, the accused allegedly left the house.
• It was claimed that neighbours came and tried to save her.
• They doused the fire by pouring water, and the victim was taken to the hospital by the neighbours and her mother-in-law.
• She was admitted at around midnight and died in the hospital on July 24, 2000, due to the severe burn injuries sustained.
• The victim’s father lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against his son-in-law, who was consequently arrested.
• The accused was put on trial, and the court acquitted him primarily on the ground that the bathroom where the incident took place was very small and could not have accommodated two persons.
• However, the high court subsequently reversed the trial court’s order.
• The acquittal was set aside, and the accused was convicted of killing his wife and was sentenced to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000.
• Aggrieved by this order, the husband challenged the appeal court’s order in the Supreme Court.

‘Victim under heavy sedation’

• Appearing for the accused, senior advocate Shekhar G Devasa argued that the victim had admittedly received more than 80 to 90 per cent burn injuries and was under heavy sedation.
• She was not in a position to make any statement, and therefore, the conviction based upon her alleged dying declaration was wholly illegal.
• It was also submitted that the prosecution failed to prove any motive for homicidal death.
• Devasa claimed that it was inherently improbable that the offence could have been committed inside the small bathroom, and that no independent neighbour was examined to prove the offence.
• The alleged dying declaration was unreliable as it was unsupported by any medical certificate and contradicted by hospital documents, which record a history of self-inflicted burns.