Full Judgment Text
NON-REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1293 OF 2018
GORABAI ..... APPELLANT
VERSUS
STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH ..... RESPONDENT
WITH
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 859 OF 2021
J U D G M E N T
SANJIV KHANNA, J.
Seventibai (since deceased) and Kalabai stand convicted for
the offences under Section 302 read with Section 147, whereas
1
Natwar, Hosilal and Gaurabai have been convicted for the offences
under Section 302 read with Section 149, and Section 147 of the
2
Indian Penal Code, 1860 .
2. Dying declarations of the deceased, Nandabai are the cynosure to
the prosecution’s case.
3. Tarabai (PW-1)-sister-in-law of Nandabai; Munna Lal (PW-3);
Signature Not Verified
Digitally signed by
SONIA BHASIN
Date: 2022.07.26
11:36:44 IST
Reason:
Kailash (PW-5); Durga Das (PW-6)- husband of Nandabai; and
1
Also referred to as “Gorabai”.
2
For short, “IPC”.
Criminal Appeal No.1293 of 2018 Page 1 of 6
Tarachand (PW-16)- brother-in-law of Nandabai, have spoken and
articulated about the oral dying declaration of Nandabai, which she
made immediately after she and her three minor daughters had
suffered burn injuries at her home on 31.07.1996. These witnesses
had reached the residence where Nandabai and her three minor
daughters were staying and have testified that Nandabai, on being
questioned about the injuries, had implicated the appellants and
Seventibai as the perpetrators.
4. Learned counsel for the appellants submits that Tarabai (PW-1),
has deposed that as per Nandabai, Seventibai had poured
kerosene oil and Kalabai had set her and her daughters on fire with
a diya . However as per the testimonies of Munna Lal (PW-3),
Kailash (PW-5), Durga Das (PW-6) and Tarachand (PW-16),
Nandabai had stated that Seventibai, Kalabai, Gaurabai, Natwar,
and Hosilal surrounded them, and thereupon, Seventibai had
poured kerosene oil and set them to fire from the kerosene chimney
or oil lamp.
5. Tarabai’s (PW-1) deposition, while setting out the direct role of
Seventibai and Kalabai, it is correct has not mentioned about
Gaurabai, Natwar, and Hosilal. This is explainable because, as per
Tarabai (PW-1), Seventibai and Kalabai had poured kerosene oil
and set the fire. Tarabai (PW-1) is an innocent illiterate villager, who
Criminal Appeal No.1293 of 2018 Page 2 of 6
would not be aware of the legal significance of the physical
presence of other appellants at that time. Further, this lack of
summation is not sufficient to discard a detailed and elaborate
account of the dying declaration by Nandabai, as narrated by
Munna Lal (PW-3), Kailash (PW-5), Durga Das (PW-6) and
Tarachand (PW-16). Nandabai and her three daughters were
subjected to restraint and thereupon were inflicted burns in the
presence of other appellants is born out and proven.
6. The prosecution equally relies on the dying declaration recorded in
writing by Ravi Shankar (PW-13), City Superintendent of Police,
Khandwa, marked Exhibit P-23. In the dying declaration recorded
by Ravi Shankar (PW-13), Nandabai had named Seventibai and the
appellants as the perpetrators who had caused the burn injuries by
pouring kerosene oil and setting the fire. Ravi Shanker (PW-13) has
referred to the presence of the doctor, namely, Dr Chauhan, who
was not examined, but his signatures on Exhibit P-23 have been
proved. The testimony of Ravi Shankar (PW-13) is corroborated by
Jagan (PW-15), one of the witnesses to the written dying
declaration, who was present in the hospital at that time.
Munna Lal (PW-3), Kailash (PW-5) and Durga Das (PW-6) have
deposed that Nandabai was intermittently conscious after the
incident.
Criminal Appeal No.1293 of 2018 Page 3 of 6
7. Munna Lal (PW-3) has stated that on being informed about the
incident, he went inside the house of Nandabai and saw Nandabai
and her three children lying burnt. Thereupon, he had proceeded to
speak to the Surpunch Babu Lal (PW-4), who then came to the spot.
On the statement of Surpunch Babu Lal (PW-4), the First
3
Information Report No. 444/96, marked as Exhibit P-16, was
recorded at the Police Station of Khandwa. Surpunch Babu Lal
(PW-4) was declared hostile, however, the statement made by
Surpunch Babu Lal (PW-4), which was the basis for registering the
FIR stands proven by P.S. Yadav (PW-9), Assistant Sub-Inspector,
who had recorded his statement. The FIR refers to the written dying
declaration as recorded by Ravi Shankar (PW-13).
8. There is also evidence to establish the motive. Tarabai (PW-1),
Durga Das (PW-6) and Tarachand (PW-16) have deposed that the
appellants believed that Nandabai was responsible for defaming
Gaurabai due to her suspicion that Gaurabai was having illicit
relations with her husband, Durga Das (PW-6). This was objected
to and taken as an offence by the family members of Gaurabai,
namely, her grandmother- Seventibai, her mother- Kalabai, her
father- Natwar and her uncle- Hosilal.
3
For Short, “FIR”.
Criminal Appeal No.1293 of 2018 Page 4 of 6
9. Kailash (PW-5), the neighbour of the deceased, has testified that at
around 7.00 P.M., he had seen the appellants and Seventibai
outside the house of the deceased and at that time appellant Hosilal
was saying that he would kill Nandabai and ruin their family.
Thereafter, Kailash (PW-5), had proceeded to his own house to do
work. Subsequently, Kailash (PW-5) had seen the appellants
running away from the side of the house of one Shobhalal towards
the lane. On being asked why the appellants were running, the
appellants did not say anything. Kailash (PW-5) had proceeded to
the house of the deceased, and saw Tarabai (PW-1) and Manohar
(PW-2) extinguishing the fire. He also saw a kerosene chimney or
oil lamp inside the house of the deceased.
10. Baldev Singh Thakur (PW-17), who was posted as the City
Inspector at the Police Station, Khandwa, had seized burnt hair,
cloth, matchbox, and other articles vide Seizure Memo Exhibit P-25
from the house. He had also seized the ration card vide Exhibit P-
10 as per which five litres of kerosene oil were purchased on
22.07.1996.
11. The homicidal death of Nandabai and her three minor daughters is
established from the testimonies of Dr Shashi Kant (PW-7), Dr A.K.
Shukla (PW-10), Dr Avtar Singh (PW-11), and Dr Sanjay Srivastava
Criminal Appeal No.1293 of 2018 Page 5 of 6
(PW-12), who had proved the post-mortem reports of Nandabai and
her three minor daughters, marked Exhibits P-12, P-18, P-20 and
P-22. The cause of death of Nandabai and her daughters is
attributed to shock resulting from extensive burn injuries which were
antemortem.
12. In our view, in the present case, the dying declarations are fully
corroborated by the evidence on record. The alleged discrepancies
as contended by the learned counsel for the appellants are minor
in nature and do not, in any way, dent the court testimony of the
witnesses on the oral and the recorded dying declaration of
Nandabai.
13. In view of the aforesaid discussion, we do not have any hesitation
in upholding the conviction of the appellants and the sentence
awarded to them. Accordingly, the present appeals are dismissed.
......................................J.
(SANJIV KHANNA)
......................................J.
(BELA M. TRIVEDI)
NEW DELHI;
JULY 20, 2022.
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