Criminal Appeal No.222-DB of 2008 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH. Amrit Pal Kaur APPELLANT VERSUS The State of Punjab RESPONDENT CORAM : HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE MEHTAB S.GILL HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE L.N.MITTAL Present:- Shri Vinod Ghai, Advocate for the appellant (in Cr.A.222-DB of 2008). Shri Rajesh Kumar Dadwal, Advocate for the appellants (in Cr.A.268-DB of 2008). Shri Satinder Singh Gill, Additional A.G. Punjab. MEHTAB S.GILL, J. We will be deciding Criminal Appeal No.222-DB of 2008 and Criminal Appeal No.268-DB of 2008 by this common judgment, as they arise out of the same judgment/order dated 7.3.2008 of the learned Sessions Judge, Julundur whereby he convicted Amrit Pal Kaur alias Neeru wife of Sarabjit Singh, Jagjit Singh alias Bunti son of Balbir Singh and Rajinder Kaur wife of Balbir Singh under Section 302 I.P.C. and sentenced them to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.3000/- each, in default, to further undergo RI for six months. Criminal Appeal No.222-DB of 2008 -2- The case of the prosecution is unfolded by the statement of Jaspreet Kaur Ex.PF, given to SI Kashmir Singh. Jaspreet Kaur stated, that she is a resident of Shakti Nagar, Julundur. About two years back, she was married with Jagjit Singh. Out of this wedlock one daughter aged about 7/8 months was born. Her father had given dowry beyond his means. At about 6 p.m. on 25.12.2004, she along with her husband, her sister-in-law (Nanad) Neeru and mother-in-law Rajinder Kaur were present in their house. Her husband Jagjit Singh caught hold of her arms and sister-in-law Neeru poured kerosene oil on her and mother-in-law Rajinder Kaur put her on fire. Jaspreet Kaur further stated that she got burnt. Jaspreet Kaur's sister-in-law then said that, let us finish off this routine quarrel. Neeru is married at Chandigarh, whenever she used to come to her parents' house, she used to quarrel with Jaspreet Kaur. Jaspreet Kaur further stated that her father was admitted in Patel Hospital. She wanted to see him, but her in-laws did not allow her to go to see her father and they also mistreated her. After the statement was read over to her, she put her right foot-thumb impression on the statement, as both her hands were burnt. She further stated that her in-laws had admitted her in Rattan Hospital in a burnt condition and informed her parents about this. This act has been committed by them with the intention to kill her. On the basis of this statement F.I.R. Ex.PF/2 was recorded on 25.12.2004 at 11.50 p.m. and the special report reached the A.C.J.M./ Duty Magistrate, Jullundur on 26.12.2004 at 2.35 a.m. The prosecution to prove its case, brought into the witness-box Shri K.K.Kareer, Additional C.J.M. PW-1, Dr.J.S.Bath PW-2, Dr.Kamal Gupta PW-3, Daleep Singh Draftsman PW-4, Amarjit Singh PW-5, ASI Amarjit Singh PW-6, Dr.Balraj Gupta PW-7, Dr.Sagar Sabherwal PW-8, HC Premjit Singh PW-9, HC Kirpal Singh PW-10, Dr.Amandeep Singh PW-11 and SI Kashmir Singh PW-12. In defence, Darshan Kaur the mother of the deceased was examined Criminal Appeal No.222-DB of 2008 -3- as DW-1, Charanjit Singh the cousin brother of the deceased was examined as DW-2, Jagdesh Raj as DW-3 and Pardeep Sharma as DW-4. Learned counsel for the appellants has argued that both the dying declarations Ex.PF recorded by SI Kashmir Singh PW-12 and and Ex.PA/4 recorded by Shri K.K.Kareer, A.C.J.M. PW-1 are tutored versions. These have been made by Jaspreet Kaur deceased out of anguish and disgust to take revenge as her in-laws did not allow her to go to meet her ailing father. She committed suicide out of frustration. The motive for the commission of the offence is most improbable. It has been stated by Jaspreet Kaur in her dying declaration Ex.PA/4 and Ex.PF that her father was ill and she was not being allowed to go to see him. In the second dying declaration Ex.PA/4, she has stated that she was asked by her husband Jagjit Singh to apologize to her sister-in-law Amrit Pal Kaur alias Neeru, which she refused to do so. The motive set up by the prosecution is of a trivial nature. Appellants would not have gone to the extent of committing the murder of Jaspreet Kaur over such a minor issue. Jaspreet Kaur, in fact, was depressed for not being sent to the hospital to see her father who was admitted on 22.12.2004 in Patel Hospital. In three days nothing could have happened of such a nature that the appellants would have committed the murder of Jaspreet Kaur. There is no demand of dowry. Nothing has been stated by her in both the dying declarations i.e. Ex.PA/4 and Ex.PF as to what was the article or money demanded. The prosecution, in fact, has failed to prove the motive. In site plan Ex.PG it is shown, that the occurrence had taken place in the bath room. There is nothing on record to show that Jaspreet Kaur was pulled into the bath room and thereafter all the three appellants put her on fire. If we take the dying declarations Ex.PA/4 and Ex.PF and seeing that the occurrence had taken place in the bath room measuring 7 x 7 feet, all the three appellants could not Criminal Appeal No.222-DB of 2008 -4- have been inside the bath room, otherwise, they themselves would have also got burnt. There is evidence to this effect that the match-box Ex.P2, the canie Ex.P1 of kerosene oil was recovered from the bath room. The roof of the bath room was also found to be black due to smoke. In fact, it clearly shows that deceased Jaspreet Kaur after pouring kerosene oil on herself put on fire. The conclusive evidence would have been the matching of finger prints of the appellants on the match-box Ex.P2 and the canie Ex.P1. The conduct of the appellants is clear from the dying declaration Ex.PA/4, wherein Jaspreet Kaur has stated that when she got burnt, appellants tried to put water on her to douse the flames. Appellant Jagjit Singh took her to the hospital. He paid for the bills and he was all along with Jaspreet Kaur till her death. From this it is clear that appellant Jagjit Singh wanted to save her life. ASI Amarjit Singh PW-6 has stated, that at Bath Hospital, not only Jagjit Singh was present, but Rajinder Kaur mother-in-law of the deceased was also present. This has also been stated by SI Kashmir Singh PW-12. The mother of the deceased Darshan Kaur has appeared in the witness-box as DW-1 and her cousin-brother Charanjit Singh has appeared as DW- 2. They both have stated that appellants did not commit the murder of Jaspreet Kaur. Learned counsel for the State has argued that both the dying declarations Ex.PA/4 and Ex.PF are truthful. The dying declaration Ex.PA/4 has been recorded by Shri K.K.Kareer, Additional C.J.M. PW-1. Occurrence had taken place at 6 p.m. on 25.12.2004, the F.I.R. Ex.PF/1 was recorded on the same day at 11.50 p.m. and the special report reached the C.J.M. Jalandhar at 2.35 a.m. on 26.12.2004. In both the dying declarations and the F.I.R. Ex.PF/2, appellants have been named. Distinct roles have been attributed to them. Appellant Jagjit Singh went along with the deceased only to try to show his innocence. Darshan Kaur Criminal Appeal No.222-DB of 2008 -5- DW-1 mother of the deceased and Charanjit Singh DW-2 cousin brother of the deceased have been won over by the appellants and that is the reason they have given statements in favour of the appellants. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the record with their assistance. To get to the bottom of truth, both the dying declarations Ex.PF given to SI Kashmir Singh PW-12 and Ex.PA/4 given to Shri K.K.Kareer, A.C.J.M. PW-1 have got to be scrutinised in a minute manner. Jaspreet Kaur in her statement Ex.PF has stated that the appellants in connivance with each other, put her on fire. Her husband Jagjit Singh caught hold of her arms and her sister-in-law Neeru poured kerosene oil, her mother-in-law Rajinder Kaur put her on fire. She has further stated that her sister-in-law said that they wanted to finish her off as they were fed up with the routine quarrel. She further stated that her sister-in-law Neeru, when she came from Chandigarh to visit her parents, Neeru used to quarrel with her. She stated, “My father was admitted in Patel Hospital. I used to say to see my father. They were not allowing me to go there, for which they used to maltreat me.” Another thing which comes out in this dying declaration Ex.PF is that Jaspreet Kaur has stated that it is her in-laws' family who got her admitted in the Ratan Hospital after she was burnt. There is no demand of dowry in the dying declaration Ex.PF. All that she has stated is that there was a quarrel between her and her sister-in-law Neeru. She has also stated, that she wanted to go to meet her father who was admitted in the Patel Hospital, but her in-laws were not allowing her to do so. Now, coming to the dying declaration Ex.PA/4 given to Shri K.K.Kareer, A.C.J.M., Jaspreet Kaur has stated as under :- “My father is admitted in the the hospital. His name is Mohinder Singh. He is admitted in Patel Hospital near Skylark Hotel. I asked Criminal Appeal No.222-DB of 2008 -6- my husband Jagjit Singh that I want to go to the hospital to see my father. He asked me to first apologize from sister-in-law (Nanad) Neelu. I said that I am not to apologise. Earlier I had come after living at my parental house for five months. Earlier when Neelu came, at that time also there had been conflict. Then Neelu said that daily conflict be finished. Then my sister-in-law (Nanad) poured oil upon me and my mother-in-law Rajinder Kaur put me on fire. My husband Jagjit Singh caught me hold. After putting me on fire, they themselves started sprinkling water on me and took me to the hospital and made telephone call to my parental house. Whatever statement I have given today, that I have given truly knowing the holy Waheguru. The above said occurrence took place at about 6 p.m. today.” From this dying declaration Ex.PA/4, it comes out that the first thing Jaspreet Kaur mentioned to the Magistrate was that her father was admitted in the Patel Hospital and her in-laws were not allowing her to go to see him. Her husband told her to apologise to Neeru. She further stated when Neeru used to come to her parents' house, there used to be a fight between her and Neeru. She has further stated that after her sister-in-law Neeru poured kerosene oil on her, her mother-in-law Rajinder Kaur put her on fire and her husband Jagjit Singh caught hold of her after putting her on fire. Further, she has stated that they started sprinkling water on her and then took her to hospital. They were the ones who informed her parents. From the dying declaration if appellant Jagjit Singh had caught hold of deceased Jaspreet Kaur when she was put on fire, some parts of his body would have also got burnt. There was no need for the appellants to first put her on fire and then start pouring water on her to douse the flames. They would have let her get burnt completely, so that she died. One thing comes out very clearly that the bone of contention between Jaspreet Kaur and her in-laws especially her husband Jagjit Singh as per both the dying declarations Ex.PA/4 and Ex.PF, she has stated that she wanted to visit her Criminal Appeal No.222-DB of 2008 -7- ailing father who was admitted in the Patel Hospital on 22.12.2004. Her in-laws were not allowing her to meet her father. She was depressed and frustrated which compelled her to take the extreme step of self immolation. What compelled her to commit suicide, was that she was not being allowed to go and visit her father and further also Jagjit Singh her husband wanted her to apologise to her sister-in-law Amritpal Kaur alias Neeru, which she refused to do so. Jaspreet Kaur came into acute depression as she loved her father, and could not meet him. Jaspreet Kaur was the youngest of the children of her father Mohinder Singh. In the dying declaration Ex.PA/4, there is no demand of dowry and there is nothing stated regarding the harassment to her qua the demand of dowry. Going through the site plan Ex.PG, the bath room where Jaspreet Kaur burnt herself, is 7 x 7 feet in size. If we take the statement of Jaspreet Kaur given in both the dying declarations then it would come out that there were four persons inside the small bath room. Appellants, if they had poured kerosene oil and put a match stick and burnt Jaspreet Kaur, then some parts of their bodies would also have got burnt in the process, especially appellant Jagjit Singh who allegedly had caught hold of Jaspreet Kaur as per Ex.PA/4 after she was put on fire. In Ex.PA/4, Jaspreet Kaur has stated that appellants poured water on her to douse the flames. There was no need for the appellants to douse the flames, if they had put her on fire. As per statement of SI Kashmir Singh PW-12, the match-box Ex.P2 and canie Ex.P1 from which the kerosene oil was poured, were recovered from inside the bath room. It has come in the statement of SI Kashmir Singh PW-12 that the walls and roof of the bath room had black marks because of smoke. Amarjit Singh PW-5 in his statement given 5.12.2005 supported the case of the prosecution, but when he was recalled for re-examination on 8.3.2007, he stated that his niece Jaspreet Kaur was tutored by a number of relations who Criminal Appeal No.222-DB of 2008 -8- were present in the house. They were enquiring about the incident from her and also making suggestions to her. Mother of the deceased Darshan Kaur has appeared as DW-1. She has stated that her son-in-law and daughter had cordial relations. Her husband Mohinder Singh was admitted in Patel Hospital on 15.12.2004. Both appellant Jagjit Singh and her daughter deceased Jaspreet Kaur visited him. On 25.12.2004 she was informed on telephone by appellant Jagjit Singh her son-in-law, that Jaspreet Kaur had poured kerosene oil on her and set herself on fire. On enquirying how the incident had taken place, Jagjit Singh told Darshan Kaur DW-1 that Jaspreet Kaur wanted to meet her father at Patel Hospital, he stated that he would accompany her in the evening. Jaspreet Kaur got angry on this and set herself ablaze. Similarly, Charanjit Singh DW-2 has stated that Jaspreet Kaur deceased, was his maternal uncle Mohinder Singh's daughter. He has stated on the same lines that Jaspreet Kaur wanted to visit her father Mohinder Singh to whom she was very closely attached to. On 25.12.2004 he was informed by appellant Jagjit Singh that Jaspreet Kaur had set herself ablaze and stated that the reason being that she wanted to go to Patel Hospital to meet her father, but Jagjit Singh told her that as he had some work, he would accompany her in the evening, on which Jaspreet Kaur got enraged, and set herself ablaze. It is clear from the above discussion that appellants have not committed the murder of Jaspreet Kaur. They are acquitted of the charge of murder under Section 302 I.P.C. But they have committed the offence of abetment to suicide. Jaspreet Kaur committed suicide on account of the wrong behaviour of the appellants of not allowing her to go to meet her ailing father, whereby she got frustrated and depressed and thereafter put herself on fire. Appellants are convicted under Section 306 read with Section 34 I.P.C. Appellant Jagjit Singh alias Bunti son of Balbir Singh is sentenced to Criminal Appeal No.222-DB of 2008 -9- undergo RI for 7 years. Appellant Rajinder Kaur wife of Balbir Singh is sentenced to undergo RI for 4 years. Appellant Amrit Pal Kaur wife of Sarabjit Singh is sentenced to the period already undergone by her. All the appellants are directed to pay a fine of Rs.5000/- each, in default, to further undergo RI for 6 months. Appellants Jagjit Singh and Rajinder Kaur are directed to surrender before the C.J.M., Jalandhar to undergo the remaining part of their sentence, if not already undergone. With the above modification in conviction and sentence, both the appeals are dismissed. ( MEHTAB S.GILL ) JUDGE ( L.N.MITTAL ) February 26, 2009 JUDGE GD WHETHER TO BE REFERRED TO REPORTER? YES/NO