Criminal Appeal No. 616-DB of 1999 -1- **** IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Criminal Appeal No. 616-DB of 1999 Date of decision : 23.4.2008 Renka @ Vishal .....Appellant Versus State of Punjab ...Respondent **** CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ADARSH KUMAR GOEL HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S. D. ANAND **** Present: Mr. R.S. Cheema, Senior Advocate with Mr. Aman Pal, Advocate for the appellant. Mr. A.S. Jattana, Additional Advocate General, Punjab. JUDGMENT ADARSH KUMAR GOEL, J. The appellant Renka @ Vishal is aggrieved by his conviction and sentence for the murder of Manjit Kaur by setting her ablaze. Case of the prosecution is that Manjit Kaur was married to Parmajit Singh about 13 years prior to the occurrence, which took place on 26.8.1998. Paramjit Singh had gone to Dubai about two years preceding the occurrence. Manjit Kaur was living with her two sons. Her eldest daughter was living with her aunt PW-8 Smt. Bhiro, sister of the deceased. On 26.8.1998 at 9.00 P.M. when Manjit Kaur was sleeping in her house with her sons, the accused entered the house from the stair case and dragged her. He put kerosene oil from the stove in the kitchen on her and set her on fire. On alarm being raised, he ran away. One Chhinda came to the spot and Criminal Appeal No. 616-DB of 1999 -2- **** woke up PW-9 Gurmej Kaur @ Gejo, mother-in-law of the deceased. PW- 7Gurjit Singh also came to the spot, who took her to her parental home from where her brother Balbir Singh took her to the hospital. The reason for the occurrence was that accused had an altercation with the husband of the deceased for which he took revenge. On receiving message from the hospital, PW-14 ASI Joginder Singh reached the place of occurrence and recorded the statement of Manjit Kaur Ex. PG, which led to the registration of FIR. The statement was, inter-alia, witnessed by PW-8 Smt. Bhiro. Opinion of PW-3 Dr. Ashwarya Mehra about the fitness of Manjit Kaur to make statement was taken and her statement was recorded at 2.30 P.M. on 27.8.1998. PW-14 ASI Joginder Singh also moved an application before the Magistrate on which PW-1 Shri Vinod Kumar Goel, the then Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, Ludhiana went to the hospital and after taking opinion of Doctor Ex. PB/2, he recorded statement of Manjit Kaur Ex. PA on 28.8.1998 at 1.35 P.M.. PW-14 ASI Joginder Singh went to the place of occurrence, prepared rough site plan, recovered the stove and took other proceedings for investigation. After recording statement of Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, he arrested the accused on 30.8.1998. On 4.9.1998 Manjit Kaur died in the hospital. PW-14 ASI Joginder Singh prepared inquest report and applied for post-mortem of the dead body. PW-2 Dr. Harjap Singh conducted post-mortem and found the cause of death to be extensive burns, which was sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature. PW-3 Dr. Ashwarya Mehra deposed before the Court that burns 70 to 75% of second and third degree. The prosecution examined PW-1 Vinod Kumar Goel, JMIC, Criminal Appeal No. 616-DB of 1999 -3- **** PW-2 Dr. Harjap Singh, who conducted post-mortem, PW-3 Cr. Ashwarya Mehra, who had examined Manjit Kaur and given opinion about her fitness to make statement, PW-4 Dr. Aman Kapoor, who had examined Manjit Kaur on 27.8.1998 at 4 A.M., PW-5 C.I. Baldev Singh and PW-6 C. Sarabjit Singh, formal witnesses, PW-7 Gurjit Singh, neighbour, who went to the spot on hearing alarm and who had seen the accused on the roof of the house immediately after the occurrence, PW-8 Smt. Bhiro, sister of Manjit Kaur, who met Manjit Kaur in the hospital and before whom Manjit Kaur disclosed that she was set on fire by the accused, PW-9 Gurmej Kaur @ Gejo, mother-in-law of Manjit Kaur, who got up immediately after the occurrence and who was told by Manjit Kaur that accused set her on fire, PW-10 Dalip Singh, Draftsman, PW-11 Amarjit Singh, who deposed about the extra-judicial confession of the accused on 29.8.1998, PW-12 SI Sukhdev Singh, who received message from the hospital, PW-13 Dr. Baljinder Garg, who treated Manjit Kaur, PW-14 ASI Joginder Singh, the Investigating Officer and PW-15 Constable Nand Singh, who deposed about the delivery of special report to the area Magistrate. The accused denied the prosecution allegations and stated that Manjit Kaur had proposed to marry him and on his refusal, she threatened to commit suicide and her death was result of suicide. He examined DW-1 Surinder Singh, who claimed to be known as Chhinda also and deposed that he met Manjit Kaur soon after the occurrence and she stated that she has committed suicide as she was not getting maintenance from her husband's family. After considering the evidence on record, the trial Court held Criminal Appeal No. 616-DB of 1999 -4- **** the case of the prosecution to be proved and convicted and sentenced the accused. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that oral dying declaration made before PW-8 Smt. Bhiro and PW-9 Gurmej Kaur @ Gejo and dying declaration recorded by PW-14 ASI Joginder Singh could not be accepted as genuine while dying declaration Ex. PA recorded by the PW-1 Vinod Kumar Goel, Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, had serious infirmity of there being no genuine certificate of fitness to make statement. The Magistrtate had not satisfied himself about the capacity of the patient to make the statement. PW-7 Gurjit Singh, who shifted Manjit Kaur to her parental house may have tutored her. DW-1 Surinder Singh @ Chhinda was named as person, who came to the place of occurrence by Manjit Kaur deceased and he had appeared as DW-1 and supported the defence version that she had committed suicide. The extra-judicial confession deposed to by PW-11 Amarjit Singh was not reliable as the said witness did not enjoy any respectable status nor was confident of the accused. We do not find any merit in the contentions of learned counsel for the appellant. Case against the appellant is proved beyond reasonable doubt. Dying declaration Ex. PA recorded by PW-1 Vinod Kumar Goel, the then Judicial Magistrate Ist Class, does not suffer from any infirmity. The said dying declaration carries endorsement Ex. PA/1 by the Doctor that the patient remained fit to make the statement and also Criminal Appeal No. 616-DB of 1999 -5- **** endorsement by the Magistrate Ex. PA/2 that he had satisfied himself apart from the certificate of PW-3 Dr. Ashwarya Mehra that the patient was in a fit condition to make statement. After recording the statement, the same was read out to the declarant and she marked the statement with the impression of tow of her left foot, her hands being dressed up. The statement was made voluntarily and was faithfully recorded on 28.8.1998 at 1.35 P.M. PW-3 Dr. Ashwarya Mehra corroborated the version of PW-1 Vinod Kumar Goel, Judicial Magistrate Ist Class that she declared Manjit Kaur fit to make statement and she accompanied the Magistrate, who recorded the statement in her presence, which was read over to her and she put her left toe impression thereon. She remained fit to make statement throughout. There is no reason not to hold the said dying declaration to be genuine and there is no reason not to rely upon the said dying declaration, which fully implicates the appellant. On the basis of the said evidence itself conviction of the appellant is fully justified. The version given in the dying declaration was also corroborated by PW-7 Gurjit Singh, PW-8 Smt. Bhiro, PW-9 Gurmej Kaur @ Gejo and PW-14 ASI Joginder Singh. The defence version that Manjit Kaur committed suicide cannot be held to be reliable as the same is merely a self serving statement. Such a version was not put forward at the earliest. DW-1 appears to have deposed at the instance of the accused. Manjit Kaur had no reason to falsely impocate the appellant, if she had committed suicide and had proposed to the appellant. PW-7 Gurjit Singh and PW-8 Smt. Bhiro have no axe to grind against the accused. There is no reason to discard the veracity of the version given by the said witnesses. PW-1 Vinod Kumar Goel, Judicial Magistrate Ist Class Criminal Appeal No. 616-DB of 1999 -6- **** and PW-14 ASI Joginder Singh, the Investigating Officer had also no animus against the accused. We, thus, find no merit in the appeal. Conviction and sentence of the appellant are thus liable to be affirmed. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed. (ADARSH KUMAR GOEL) JUDGE April 23, 2008 (S. D. ANAND) Pka JUDGE