(1) CRI. APP. 3989.2010 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 3989 OF 2010 Datta S/o Tukaram Malwad Age : 27 year, Occu.: Private Service, R/o. Balaji Nagar, Latur, Dist. Latur .. Applicant (Ori. Accused) VERSUS The State of Maharashtra Through the Police Station, Gandhi Chowk, Latur .. Respondent --- Mr. K.J. Suryawanshi, Advocate for the Applicant Mr. N.H. Borade, A.P.P for the respondent-State --- CORAM : V.R. KINGAONKAR, J. DATED : 26TH NOVEMBER, 2010 ORAL ORDER:- 1. The Application is for bail under section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. 2. The applicant is arrested in connection with crime no. 101 of 2010 registered at Gandhi Chowk Police Station, Latur for offence punishable under section 498-A, 302 of the Indian Penal Code. The marriage between applicant and deceased Kavita was performed before about a couple of years of her death. They were residing in a tenanted room (2) CRI. APP. 3989.2010 situated in house of Dnyaneshwar Lahubande in Balaji Nagar locality at Latur. The applicant is a mechanic. There is no dispute about the fact that in the noon of 10.5.2010, Kavita darted out of the tenanted room in burning condition and sat outside near a platform in the courtyard. She urged the neighbours to pour water on her person. The wife of landlord and other neighbours rushed to the courtyard and extinguished the fire by pouring water on her person. She was rushed to the hospital, where her dying declaration was recorded. It appears that she implicated the applicant as author of the burn injuries caused to her. 3. Learned Advocate for the applicant would submit that the presence of the applicant in the residential house is not made explicit from the record and he has been roped in due to afterthought story narrated by the deceased at instance of her relatives. It is argued that the dying declaration cannot be relied upon and probability is that deceased Kavita committed self-immolation. The Application is opposed by the learned A.P.P. (3) CRI. APP. 3989.2010 4. Perusal of the investigation papers prima facie show that initially statement of Kavita was recorded by the Police immediately after she was admitted in the hospital. She clearly named the applicant as the author of the burn injuries. She narrated to the Police that there was a quarrel between the spouses in the morning time at about 10.00 am. She further narrated that at about 2.00 pm., she was engaged in cooking when the applicant returned home and contacted her maternal uncle. Her maternal uncle asked him when he would come for the dinner party on eve of a festival called ÌkasMs “ ”. The applicant told maternal uncle of deceased-Kavita that she was serving better "ÌkasMs" to him and further instructed her maternal uncle by saying that he was not fit to be the relative. Thereafter again there took place quarrel between the spouses. The applicant asked her to go away but she declined to go out of the house. He poured kerosene on her person from the nearby stove and set her on fire. 5. It is pertinent to notice that the applicant did not make any attempt to extinguish the fire. The (4) CRI. APP. 3989.2010 statement of Murlidhar Zunje, prima facie shows that the applicant used to harass and ill-treat the deceased-Kavita. His version corroborates the allegations in the F.I.R. that in the relevant morning he insulted him on cell-phone. The Police statement of Shivkanya and others also show that immediately injured-Kavita ran outside the room and urged them to extinguish the fire. It may be gathered from Police statement of Sambhaji Lahubande that on way to the hospital, she was repeatedly asking him whether she would be saved. She gave further dying declaration in the next morning before the Executive Magistrate. Since the morning episode of the quarrel between the spouses was over by about 10.00 am, and Kavita was thereafter engaged in cooking at about 2:00 pm there was no substantial reason for her to end the life. It prima facie appears that her both the dying declarations are consistent with each other and the additional statements of the neighbouring witnesses, prima facie implicate the applicant and there is also prima facie evidence regarding frequent bickerings between the spouses. The continuous bickerings between the (5) CRI. APP. 3989.2010 spouses, harassment of the deceased by the applicant, insult caused by the applicant of her maternal uncle on the same day, while talking on the cellphone and relevant circumstances, prima facie, corroborate the case of the prosecution besides the two dying declarations of Kavita. 6. Under the circumstances, the applicant is not entitled to seek bail. The Application is therefore dismissed. Sd/- [V. R. KINGAONKAR, J.] arp