1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY, NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR Criminal Application No.429 of 2009 (Daulatrao Annaji Chahande v. State of Maharashtra) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Office Notes, Memoranda of Coram, appearances, Court's orders or directions : Court's or Judge's orders and Registrar's orders. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Shri D.C. Chahande, Advocate for Applicant. Shri D.B. Patel, APP for Non-Applicant. CORAM : R.C. Chavan, J. DATE : 24th March, 2009 Heard. This is an application for bail by father-in-law, who is alleged to have poured kerosene on the victim and set her on fire. The learned counsel for the applicant points out that in the first dying declaration, the victim had stated that she accidently caught fire. However, in the second dying declaration before the Executive Magistrate, she had attributed criminal acts to the applicant. The learned counsel, therefore, states that the benefit of this divergence should go to the applicant. This is a question to be decided at the trial, where the learned Trial Judge would examine which of the two dying declarations is more reliable. It cannot be a matter of fixed formula that when there are two contradictory dying 2 declarations, the applicant must get the benefit of it or must be admitted to bail pending trial. Considering the fact that the applicant has been named by the victim as a person, who poured kerosene on her person and set her on fire in a declaration recorded before the Magistrate, no case for grant of bail is made out. The application is, therefore, rejected. The learned Trial Judge would doubtless expedite the trial considering the fact that the applicant is 70 years' old and a senior citizen. Since the case is already committed to the Court of Session, the learned Trial Judge shall dispose it of as far as possible within three months. JUDGE pdl