(2015] 3 S.C.R. 394

VIJAYPAL

STATE (GNCT) OF DELHI

(Criminal Appeal No. 2153 of2011)

MARCH 10, 2015

[DIPAK MISRA AND N.V. RAMANA, JJ.]

Penal Code, 1860s. 302 - Prosecution under- Death caused by husband of his wife -After 11 years of marriage - By setting the wife on fire - Dying declaration - Conviction by courts below- On appeal, held: Conviction was justified- D The dying declaration, the post-mortem report, the oral evidence of brother and father of the deceased and of the doctor who conducted post-mortem, the seized items from the place of occurrence, prove that the incident was not accidental - The evidence of the minor daughter of the E deceased who was declared hostile, is unbelievable in view of the medical evidence - Plea of alibi is also sketchy and does not stand to reason - Conviction upheld.

F Dying declaration - Evidentiary value - Discussed.

Evidence - Medical testimony vis-a-vis ocular testimony

- Evidentiary value - Discussed.

Evidence -Alibi - Held: The burden to prove the plea of G alibi is on the accused - The plea has to be established by the accused by positive evidence - The plea can succeed only if it is shown that the accused was so far away at the relevant time that he could not be present at the place of occurrence.

H 394

VIJAY PAL v. STATE (GNCT) OF DELHI 395

Dismissing the appeal, the Court A

HELD: 1. From the oral evidence and the seized items from the place of occurrence, it is quite vivid that the deceased had suffered burn injuries which lead to her death. It was PW-3, the minor daughter of the B deceased, who witnessed the quarrel and rushed to the home of her grandparents. [para 11] [404-C-D]

2. The trial Judge has put the relevant question to PW-3 to find out whether she was in a position to c understand the questions and depose in Court. On being declared hostile, she was cross-examined. She has first deposed that she was not aware who had removed her mother to the hospital and thereafter changed her stand stating that her uncle had removed her mother. As her D testimony would show she has not mentioned whereabouts of her father at the time of the incident. Her ignorance about how the mother was shifted to the hospital shows that she has not spoken anything about her father in order to protect him. [para 11] [404-D-H] E

3. The trial court and the High Court have placed reliance on the post-mortem report. PW5, who had conducted the post-mortem on the dead body of the deceased had, in his cross-examination, categorically F denied the suggestion that the injuries received by the deceased could have been sustained because of kerosene oil from the stove fell on her body due to the pinning of the stove and also by fall of a tin of kerosene G oil on the floor.

He has deposed without any equivocation that the burn injuries sustained by the deceased were not possible due to accidental burns. The presence of kerosene on the scalp hair of the deceased and presence of dust particles in the larynx of the H

A deceased, as per the FSL Report, clearly evince that kerosene oil was poured on the skull of the deceased which could not have happened by accident. The testimony of the daughter of the deceased, PW-3, a young girl often years that the kerosene oil accidentally B spilled on the body of her mother is thus absolutely unbelievable on weighing the medical testimony vis-a vis the ocular testimony. [paras 12 and 13] [405-F-G;

406-C-D, E-G] c \

4. It is true that tlie value of medical evidence is only corroborative. It is also true that the post-mortem report by itself is not a substantive piece of evidence, but the evidence of the doctor conducting the postmortem can by no means be ascribed to be insignificant D The significance of the evidence of the doctor lies vis-avis the injuries appearing on the body of the deceased ' person and likely use of the weapon ahd it would then be the prosecutor's duty and obligation to have the E corroborative evidence available on record from the other pros!'!cution witnesses. It is also an accepted principle that sufficient weightage should be given to the evidence of the doctor who has conducted the postmortem, as compared to the statements found in the F textbooks, but giving weightage does not ipso facto mean that each and every statement made by a medical witness should be accepted on its face value even when it is self-contradictory. It is also a settled principle that the opinion given by a medical witness need not be the G last word on the subject Such an opinion shall be tested by the Court If the opinion is bereft of logic or objectivity, the court is not obliged to go by that opinion. That apart, it would be erroneous to accord undue primacy to the H hypothetical answers of medical witnesses to exclude

VIJAY PAL v. STATE (GNCT) OF DELHI 397

the eyewitnesses' account which are to be tested A

independently and not treated as the 'variable' keeping the medical evidence as the 'constant'. Where the eyewitnesses' account is found credible and trustworthy, a medical opinion pointing to the alternative possibilities cannot be accepted as conclusive. [para 13] [406-G; 407- B

B-G]

Solanki Chimanbhai Ukabhai v. State of Gujrat 1983

(2) SCC 17 4, State of Haryana v. Ram Singh 2002

(1) SCR 208 = 2002 (2) sec 426, Mohd. Zahid v. State ofT.N. 1999 (6) SCC 120, State ofHaryna v. Bhagirath 1999 (3) SCR 529 = 1999 (5) sec 96 and Abdul Sayeed v. State of M.P. 2010 (13) SCR 311 = 2010

(10) sec 259referred to.

5. It is not correct to say that when the deceased sustained 100% burn injuries, she could not have made any statement to her brother. If the dying declaration is absolutely credible and nothing is brought on record that E the deceased was in such a condition, he or she could not have made a dying declaration to a witness, there is no justification to discard the same. In the instant case, PW-1 had immediately rushed to the house of the deceased and she had told him that her husband had F poured kerosene on her. The plea taken by the appellant that he has been falsely implicated because his money was deposited with the in-laws and they were not inclined to return, does not also really breathe the truth, for there is even no suggestion to that effect. [paras 20 and 21] G

[411-D-G]

Mafabhai Nagarbhai Raval v. State of Gujarat 1992 (4) SCC 69; State of Madhya Pradesh v. Dal Singh and Others 2013 (8) SCR 968 = 2013 (14) sec 159 - H

A relied on.

Laxman v. State of Maharashtra 2002 (6) SCC 710; Babula/ v. State of M.P 2003 (5),, Suppl. SCR 54 = 2003

(12) SCC 490; PrakashV. State ofM.P. 1992 (4) SCC B 225 - referred to.

6. When a plea of alibi is taken by an accused, burden is upon him to establish the same by positive evidence, after onus as regards presence on the spot is c established by the prosecution. The evidence that has been adduced by the accused to prove the plea of alibi is sketchy and in fact does not stand to reason. It is not a case where the accused has proven with absolute certainty so as to exclude the possibility of his presence D at the place of occurrence. The burden on he accused is rather heavy and he is required to establish the plea of alibi with certitude. In the instant case, nothing has been brought on record that it was a physical impossibility of the presence of the accused to be at the E scene of the offence by reason of his presence at another

place. The plea can succeed only if it is shown that the accused was so far away at the relevant time that he could not be present at the place where. the crime was F committed. The evidence of DW-1, does not inspire any confidence, which is not only sketchy but also defies reason. When the trial court as well as the High Court have disbelieved the plea of alibi which is a concurrent finding of fact, there is no warrant to dislodge the same.

G [para 23 and 25) (412-E; 414-E-F; 415-A-B]'

Binay Kumar Singh V. State of Bihar 1996

(8) Suppl. SCR 225 = 1997(1) SCC 283; Gurpreet Singh v. State of Haryana 2002 (2) Suppl. SCR H 337 = 2002 (8) SCC 18, S.K. Sattar v. State of

VIJAY PAL v. STATE (GNCT) OF DELHI 399

Maharashtra 2010 (10) SCR 503 = 2010 (8) SCC 430 A and Jitender Kumar v. State of Haryana 2012

(4) SCR 408 = 2012 (6) SCC 204; Dudh Nath Pandey

v. State of U. P. 1981 (1) SCC 166 - relied on.

Case Law Reference B

1983 (2) sec 174 referred to para 13

2002 (1) SCR 208 referred to para 13

2002 (2) sec 426 referred to para 13 c

1999 (6) sec 120 referred to para 13

1999 (3) SCR 529 referred to para 13

2010 (13) SCR 311 referred to para 13 D

2002 (6) sec 110 referred to para 16

2003 (5) Suppl. SCR 54 referred to para 18

1992 (4) sec 225 referred to para 19 E

1992 (4) sec 69 relied on para 21

2013 (8) SCR 968 relied on para 22

1996 (8) Suppl. SCR 225 relied on para 23 F

2002 (2) Suppl. SCR 337 relied on para 23

2010 (10) SCR 503 relied on para 23

2012 (4) SCR 408 relied on para 23 G

1981 (1) sec 166 relied on para 25

CRIMINALAPPELLATE JURISDICTION; Criminal Appeal No. 2153 of 2011.

A From the Judgment and Order dated 31.08.2009 of the

High Court of Delhi at New Delhi in Criminal Appeal No. 417 of2001.

Nupur Choudhary (AC.), G. Madhavi for the Appellant.

W. A Quadri, Radhakanta Tripathy, Anil Katiyar for the Respondent.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

C DIPAK MISRA, J. 1. In this appeal, the assail is to the judgment and order dated 31.8.2009 passed by the High Court of Delhi in Criminal Appeal No. 417 of 2001 whereby the Division Bench has dismissed the appeal while affirming the

judgmet and order dated 17 .01.2001 of the learned Additional D Sessions Judge, Delhi in Sessions Case No. 27 of 1998 whereunderthe trial Court had convicted the appellant under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (for short "the 1.P.C.") and sentenced him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life.

2. Filtering the unnecessary details the case of the prosecution is that the deceased, Savitri, had entered into wedlock with the appellant herein prior to almost eleven years of the date of occurrence i.e. 2.11.1997. The parental home F of the deceased was situated at a distance of half a kilometer.

On the fateful day i.e. 2.11.1997 about 11:00 p.m., Seema, PW-3, daughter of the deceased, aged about ten years, came running to the house of her grandfather Shivcharan, PW-8, and informed him as well as Satish, brother of the deceased, PW- G 1, that her father was threatening to burn her mother. The infonnation compelled PWs 1 and 8 to rush to the house of the deceased and, as the factual matrix would show, PW-1, being young in age, reached the house of his sister earlier than his father and found his sister was burning and she told him that it H

was the accused-appellant who had put her ablaze by pouring A kerosene. The brother poured water on the deceased in order to extinguish the fire and thereafter took her to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital where she could not be admitted due to lack of facility and thereafter they brought her to Safdarjung Hospital where she was admitted. Despite availing treatment, B she breathed her last on 3.11.1997 about noon. It is necessary to mention here that after the deceased was taken by her father and brother to the hospital, two neighbours, namely, Shanker Lal and Surender, PW-2 and PW-4 respectively went to the C Police Station at Manol Puri and gave the information about the incident by DD-73 dated 2.11.1997 on the basis of which, the S.I. Vijender Singh, PW-21, went to the place of the occurrence where he met PW-3, the daughter of the deceased, and came to learn that her parents had quarreled and her D mother had suffered burn injuries and was taken to the hospital.

3. In the meantime, information was received at the police station from Safdarjung Hospital that the deceased had been admitted there and on the basis of the said information, E the police rushed to the hospital where they metPWs 1and8.

As the prosecution case would further unfurl after the death took place they proceeded with the investigation, seized the burnt clothes, a quilt, one plastic cane, one match-box and match stick and sent the dead body for post mortem. The F investigating agency in course of investigation arrested the husband on 03.11.1997 and after recording the statements of number of witnesses laid the chargesheet for the offence punishable under Section 302 IPC before the competent Court, which in tum committed the matter to the Court of Session and G eventually it was tried by the learned Additional Sessions Judge.

4. The accused abjured his guilt and pleaded that he was not at home as he had gone to his sister's place,

A Shyamwati, DW-1 at MJ-1/61, Vikas Puri, Delhi and claimed to be tried.

5. The prosecution in order to substantiate the charges leveled against the accused person, examined as many as B 21 witnesses and got number of documents exhibited. On the basis of the ocular and the documentary evidence, the learned trial Judge came to hold that the prosecution had established the charge levelled against the accused to the hilt and accordingly convicted him under Section 302, l.P.C and C imposed the sentence as has been stted hereinbefore.

6. On an appeal being preferred, the High Court reappreciating the evidence and placing reliance on the oral dying declaration and the testimony of the brother and further D accepting the post mortem report found that the learned trial

Judge had really not faulted in recording the conviction. Being of this view, it dismissed the appeal.

7. We have heard Ms. Nupur Choudhary, Advocate E (Amicus Curiae) forthe appellant and Mr. W.A. Quadri, counsel

for the State.

8. It is submitted by Ms. Nupur Choudhary, learned Amicus Curiae that the learned trial Judge as well as the High F Court has erroneously recorded the conviction against the appellant though PW-3, the daughter of the deceased, had not supported the case of the prosecution and she being the principalwitness, the accused deserved to be acquitted. It has been urged by her that High Court has flawed by placing G reliance on the oral dying declaration of the deceased when she had suffered serious burn injuries, and in such a situation it could not be possible on her part to tell anything to her brother.

She has seriously criticized the judgment of the High Court in H not accepting the plea of alibi advanced by the accused which

had a solid foundation, for the fateful day was "Bhaiya Dooj" A and, therefore, the accused had gone to his sister's place as per the tradition.

9. Mr. Quadri, learned counsel for the State, per contra, would contend that though the daughter of the deceased, PW- B 3, has turned hostile yet her evidence cannot totally be brushed aside as both the prosecution and the defence can rely on such parts of the testimony which are favourable to them. It is his further submission that the oral dying declaration which has been stated by the brother of the deceased in his testimony C has been proven beyond any trace of doubt and despite the roving cross-examination, he has remained absolutely firm and nothing has been elicited to discard his version and, therefore, neither the learned trial Judge nor the High Court has faulted in placing reliance on it. Pertaining to the plea of alibi, learned D counsel would submit that the said plea has not been established by the accused as required under the law and the material brought on record by the prosecution do clearly demonstrate that at the relevant time he was at home. In E essence, it is urged by him that when these aspects are appreciated in a seemly manner, the cumulative effect would go a long way to show that the appellant has been appositely convicted by the learned trial Judge and the High Court has absolutely correctly concurred with the same.

10. To appreciate the rivalised submissions raised at the bar, we have perused the judgments of the trial Court and the High Court with concerned anxiety and cautiously scrutinized the evidence on record. As we find, there are G basically seven witnesses whose evidence are important, they are Satish, brother of the deceased, PW-1, Shivcharan, father of the deceased, PW-8, Dr. GK. Chaubey, who conducted the post mortem, PW-5, Seema, daughter of the deceased, PW- H

A 3, Shanker Lal, PW-2 and Su render, PW-4 who informed the police at the first instance and Vijender Singh, PW-21, the sub- Inspector who recorded the statement. At this juncture, it is necessary to mention that apart from PW-3, PWs 2, 4 and 8, were also declared hostile by the prosecution and were cross- B examined by the state. In this backdrop, it is to be seen whether the material brought on record is sufficient enough to sustain the conviction on a scrutiny of the Exbts. PW-1/A, PW-1/B, PW-1/D, PW-1/E, PW-1/F and Exbt. P-2 that were seized.

11. From the oral evidence and the seized items from the place of occurrence, it is quite vivid that the deceased had suffered burn injuries which lead to her death. It was PW-3, the daughter of the deceased, who witnessed the quarrel and

0 rushed to the home of her grandparents. The learned trial Judge has put the relevant question to her to find out whether she was in a position to understand the questions and depose in Court. In her evidence, she had stated that on the fateful day about 11.00 p.m. her mother was preparing food forthe children E and for the said purpose she was pouring kerosene oil in the stove as it was empty and thereafter when she tried to light the stove, the kerosene oil was not coming from the nozzle of the stove, then the deceased inserted a pin in the nozzle and the oil sprinkled on her and in the process she caught fire. On F being declared hostile, she was cross-examined. It is relevant to note here that she has first deposed that she was not aware who had removed her mother to the hospital and thereafter changed her stand stating that her uncle had removed her mother. As her testimony would show she has not mentioned G whereabouts of her father at the time of the incident. Her ignorance about how the mother was shifted to the hospital shows that as the High Court has correctly analysed, she has not spoken anything about her father in order to protect him.

H Keeping in abeyance whether the plea of alibi taken by the

accused is proven or not to be dealt with at a later stage, we A think it apposite to scan the evidence of other witnesses. PW- 1, the brother of the accused, has unequivocally deposed that after getting the information from Seema, PW-3, his father and he rushed to the house of the deceased. As is evincible from the testimony, he reached the house of the sister first and found B she was burning and she told him that his brother-in-law had poured kerosene and put her ablaze. She has also stated that the children should not be given to the accused. He has, in detail, spoken about going to the hospital and how the site C plan was prepared and the items were seized in presence of the witnesses. In the cross-examination, no suggestion has been given about the absence of husband in the house, contrivance of the dying declaration by him or anything which would create a dent in his testimony. What has been sought to D be brought in the cross-examination is that no one was present in the room of the deceased and certain other questions which have nothing to do with the incident. It has been suggested to him that his sister and the accused had kept Rs.90,000/-with . his father, PW-8, for purchasing a house and as they refused E to return the money, they had, getting an opportunity, falsely implicated the accused. It has also come out in the crossexamination that the accused was a habitual drinker and gambler and his family was supported by the in-laws.

12. At this stage it would be appropriate to state that the trial court and the High Court have placed reliance on the post-mortem report. Dr. G.K. Choubey, PW5, who had conducted the post-mortem on the dead body of the deceased

had found the following injuries:- G

"Superficial to deep bum injury over all the body surface area including scalp, skin peeled off at various places, margins red underneath tissues bright red and there H

A was blackening of skin over various arec;. Skin was peeled off at soles, but not at palms. Venisection at left leg above medial malleolus was present."

It was 100 per cent antemortem deep burns. Internal B examination revealed that Larynx contained soot particles i\lnd rest of the organs were found to be congested."

13. In the cross-examination he has categorically denied c the suggestion that the injuries received by the deceased could have been sustained because of kerosene oil from the stove fell on her body due to the pinning of the stove and also by fall of a tin of kerosene oil on the floor. He has deposed without any equivocation that the burn injuries sustained by the D deceased were not possible due to accidental burns. The High Court has taken note of the FSL Report, Ext. PW 20/B, from which it is evident that the analysis by gas liquid chromatography showed, kerosene oil residues were found on the scalp hair of the deceased. It is apt to note that the E presence of kerosene on the scalp hair of the deceased and presence of dust particles in the larynx of the deceased clearly evince that kerosene oil was poured on the skull of the deceased which could not have happened by accident. The F testimony of the daughter, Seema, PW-3, a young girl often

. years that the kerosene oil accidentally spilled on the body of her mother is thus absolutely unbelievable. We are disposed to think so when we weigh the medical testimony vis-a vis the ocular testimony. There is no dispute that the value of medical G evidence is only corroborative. It proves that the injuries could have been caused in the manner as alleged and nothing more.

The use which the defence can make of the medical evidence is to prove that the injuries could not possibly have been caused in the manner alleged and thereby discredit the eye-witnesses.

Unless, however the medical evidence in its turn goes so far A that it completely rules out all possibilities whatsoever of injuries taking place in the manner alleged by eyewitnesses, the testimony of the eye-witnesses cannot be thrown out on the ground of alleged inconsistency between it and the medical evidence. It is also true that the post-mortem report by itself is B not a substantive piece of evidence, but the evidence of the doctor conducting the post-mortem can by no means be ascribed to be insignificant. The significance of the evidence of the doctor lies vis-a-vis the injuries appearing on the body C of the deceased person and likely use of the weapon and it would th.en be the prosecutor's duty and obligation to have the corroborative evidence available on record from the other prosecution witnesses. It is also an accepted principle that sufficient weightage should be given to the evidence of the D doctor who has conducted the post-mortem, as compared to the statements found in the textbooks, but giving weightage does not ipso facto mean that each and every Statement made by a medical witness should be accepted on its face value even when it is self-contradictory. It is also a settled principle E that the opinion given by a medical witness need not be the last word on the subject. Such an opinion shall be tested by the Court. If the opinion is bereft of logic or objectivity, the court is not obliged to go by that opinion. That apart, it would be erroneous to accord undue primacy to the hypothetical F answers of medical witnesses to exclude the eyewitnesses' account which are to be tested independently and not treated as the 'variable' keeping the medical evidence as the 'constant'. Where the eyewitnesses' account is found credible G and trustworthy, a medical opinion pointing to the alternative possibilities cannot be accepted as conclusive.

[See: Solanki Chimanbhai Ukabhai v. State of Gujrat1,

1 (1983) 2 sec 114 H

A State Of Haryana v. Ram Singh', Mohd. Zahid v. State of T.N. 3, State of Haryna v. Bhagirath4 and Abdul Sayeed

v. State of M.P.5]

14. Having stated about the medical evidence that has B been brought on record and how such an evidence is to be valued, we think it apt to dwell upon the oral dying declaration which has been' placed reliance upon by the trial Court as well as the High Court. As per the evidence of the brother, Satish, PW-1, he after reaching the place of occurrence found his sister C ablaze and she had stated that her husband has poured kerosene on her and put her ablaze. There is material to show that the father, Shivcharan, PW-8, arrived after his son. The prosecution has explained about the delayed arrival of the

0 father.

15. The submission of the learned counsel for the appellant is that the oral dying declaration lacks intrinsic truth and it does not deserve acceptance. At this juncture we think it appropriate to refer to certain authorities how an oral dying E declaration is to be scrutinized.

16. In the case of Laxman v. State ofMaharashtra6, the Constitution Bench has held thus:

F "The juristic theory regarding acceptability of a dying declaration is that such declaration is made in extremity, when the party is at the point of death and when every hope of this world is gone, when every motive to falsehood is silenced, and the man is induced by the G most powerful consideration to speak only the truth.

2 (2002) 2 sec 426 3 (1999) 6 sec 120 4 (1999) s sec 96 s (2010) 10 sec 259 H 6 (2002) 6 sec 110

Notwithstanding the same, great caution must be A exercised in considering the weight to be given to this species of evidence on account of the existence of many circumstances which may affect their truth. The situation in which a man is on the deathbed is so solemn and serene, is the reason in law to accept the veracity of his B

statement. It is for this reason the requirements of oath and cross-examination are dispensed with. Since the accused has no power of cross-examination, the courts • insist that the dying declaratiomihould be of such a nature c as to inspire full confidence of the court in its truthfulness and correctness. The court, however, has always to be on guard to see that the statement of the deceased was not as a result of either tutoring or prompting or a product of imagination. The court also must further decide that D the deceased was in a fit state of mind and had the opportunity to observe and identify the assailant.

Normally, therefore, the court in order to satisfy whether the deceased was in a fit mental condition to make the dying declaration looks up to the medical opinion. But E where the eyewitnesses state that the deceased was in a fit and conscious state to make the declaration, the medical opinion will not prevail, nor can it be said that since there is no certification of the doctor as to the fitness of the mind of the declarant, the dying declaration is not F

acceptable. A dying declaration can be oral or in writing and any adequate method of communication whether by words or by signs or otherwise will suffice provided the indication is positive .and definite." G

17. The aforesaid judgment makes it absolutely clear that the dying declaration can be oral or in writing and any adequate method of communication whether by words or by signs or otherwise wm suffice, provided the communication is H positive and definite. There cannot be any cavil over the

A proposition that a dying declaration cannot be mechanili:ally relied upon. In fact, it is the duty of the Court to examine a dying declaration with studied scrutiny to find out whether the same is voluntary, truthful and made in a conscious state of mind and further it is without any influence.

18. At this juncture, we may quote a passage from Babula/ v. State of M.P. 7 wherein the value of dying declaration_ in evidence has been stated:-

"7 .... Aperson who is facing imminent death, with even a shadow of continuing in this world practically non-existent, every motive of falsehood is obliterated. The mind gets altered by most powerful ethical reasons to speak only the truth. Great solemnity and sanctity is attached to the words of a dying person because a person on the verge of death is not likely to tell lies or to concoct a case so as to implicate an innocent person. The maxim is "a man will not meet his Maker with a lie in his mouth" (nemo moriturus praesumitur mentin). Mathew Arnold said, ''truth sits on the lips of a dying man". The general principle on which the species of evidence is admitted is that they are declarations made in extremity, when the party is at the point of death, and when every hope of this world is gone, when every motive to falsehood is silenced and mind induced by the most powerful consideration to speak the truth; situation so solemn that law considers the same as creating an obligation equal to that which is imposed by a positive oath administered in a court of justice."

19. Dealing with the oral dying declaration, a two-Judge Bench in Prakash II. State ofM.P.8 has stated thus:

1 (2003) 12 sec 490 H s (1992) 4 sec 225

VIJAY PAL v. STATE (GNCT) OF DELHI

[DIPAK MISRA, J.]

"11 . ... In the ordinary course, the members of the family

including the father were expected to ask the victim the names of the assailants at the first opportunity and if the victim was in a position to communicate, it is reasonably expected that he would give the names of the assailants if he had recognised the assailants. In the instant case there is no occasion to hold that the deceased was not in a position to identify the assailants because it is nobody's case that the deceased did not know the accused persons. It is therefore quite likely that on being asked the deceased would name the assailants. In the facts and circumstances of the case theHigh Court has accepted the dying declaration and we do not think that such a finding is perverse and requires to be interfered with."

20. Thus, the law is quite clear that if the dying declaration is absolutely credible and nothing is brought on record that the deceased was in such a condition, he or she could not have made a dying declaration to a witness, there is E no justification to discard the same. In the instant case, PW-1 had immediately rushed to the ho1Jse of the deceased and she had told him that her husband had poured kerosene on her. The plea taken by the appellant that he has been falsely implicated because his money was deposited with the in-laws F and they were not inclined to return, does not al.so really breathe the truth, for there is even no suggestion to that effect.

21. It is contended by the learned counsel for the appellant when the deceased sustained 100% burn injuries, G she could not have made any statement to her brother. In this regard, we may profitably refer to the decision in Mafabhai Nagarbhai Raval v. State of Gujarat9 wherein it has been

9 (1992) 4 sec 69 H

A held a person suffering 99% burn injuries could be deemed capable enough forthe purpose of making a dying declaration.

The Court in the said case opined that unless there existed some inherent and apparent defect, the trial Court should not have substituted its opinion for that of the doctor. In the light of B the facts of the case, the dying declaration was found to be worthy of reliance.

22. In State of Madhya Pradesh v. Dal Singh and Others10, a two-Judge Bench placed reliance on the dying C declaration of the deceased who had suffered 100% burn injuries on the ground that the dying declaration was found to be credible.

23. At this juncture, we think it apt to deal with the plea D of alibi that has been put forth by the appellant. As is

demonstrable, the trial court has discarded the plea of alibi.

When a plea of alibi is taken by an accused, burden is upon him to establish the same by positive evidence, after onus as regards presence on the spot is established by the prosecution.

E In this context, we may profitably reproduce a few paragraphs

from Bi nay Kumar Singh II. State of Bihar11 : .

"22. We must bear in mind that an alibi is not an exception (special or general) envisaged in the Indian Penal Code or any other law. It is only a rule of evidence. recognised in Section 1 of the Evidence Act that facts which are inconsistent with the fact in issue are relevant. Illustration

(a) given under.the provision is worth reproducing in this context:

"The question is whether A committed a crime at Calcutta on a certain date; the fact that on that date, A was at

10 (2013) 14 sec 159 H 11 (1997) 1 sec 203

Lahore is relevant." A

23. The Latin word alibi means "elsewhere" and that word is used for convenience when an accused takes recourse to a defence line that when the occurrence took place he was so far away from the place of occurrence that it is

extremely improbable that he would have participated in the crime. It is a basic law that in a criminal case, in which the accused is alleged to have inflicted physical injury to another person, the burden is on the prosecution to prove that the accused was present at the scene and has participated .in the crime. The burden would not be lessened by the mere fact that the accused has adopted the defence of alibi. The plea of the accused in such cases need be considered only when the burden has been discharged by the prosecution satisfactorily. But once the prosecution succeeds in discharging the burden it is incumbent on the accused, who adopts the plea of alibi, to prove it with absolute certainty so as to exclude the

possibility of his presence at the place of occurrence.

E When the presence of the accused at the scene of occurrence has been established satisfactorily by the prosecution through reliable evidence. normally the court would be slow to believe any counter-evidence to the effect that he was elsewhere when the occurrence F happened. But if the evidence adduced by the accused is of such a qualitv and of such a standard that the court may entertain some reasonable doubt regarding his presence at the scene when the occurrence took place. the accused would, no doubt. be entitled to the benefit of that reasonable doubt. For that purpose, it would be a sound proposition to be laid down that, in such circumstances, the burden on the accused is rather heavy.

It follows, therefore, that strict proof is required for establishing the plea of alibi.

[Emphasis supplied]

The said principle has been reiterated in Gurpreet Singh v. State of Haryana12, S.K. Sattar v. State of Maharashtra13 and Jitender Kumar v. State of Haryana14•

24.

Applying the aforesaid test, we have to x-ray the evidence on record. The father of the deceased, PW-8, has stated in categorical terms that the appellant-accused was there at home. Nothing has been elicited in the cross- C examination. The prosecution has been able to establish that the occurrence took place at 11.00 p.m. There is conclusive

medical evidence that the deceased did not suffer the injuries because of accidental fire. There is no reason to disbelieve the testimony of the father of the deceased or to discard the D medical evidence. On the contrary, the evidence is beyond reproach.

25. In our considered opinion, when the trial court as well as the High Court have disbelieved the plea of alibi which E is a concurrent finding of fact, there is no warrant to dislodge

the same, The evidence that has been adduced by the accused to prove the plea of alibi is sketchy and in fact does not stand to reason. It is not a case where the accused has proven with absolute certainty so as to exclude the possibility of his F presence at the place of occurrence. The evidence adduced by the accused is not of such a quality that the Court would entertain a reasonable doubt. The burden on the accused is rather heavy and he is required to establish the plea of alibi G with certitude. In the instant case, nothing has been brought on record that it was a physical impossibility of the presence of the accused to be at the scene of the offence by reason of

12 c2002i a sec 1a 13 c201oi a sec 430 H 14 c2012i 6 sec 204

his presence at another place. The plea can succeed only if it A is shown that the accused was so far away at the relevant time that he could not be present at the place where the crime was committed. [See Dudh Nath Pandey v. State of U.P. 15]. The

evidnce of the sister, DW-1, does not inspire any confidence.

The cumulative effect of the evidence as regards the presence B of the accused at the scene of occurrence cannot be disbelieved on the basis of bald utterance of the sister which is not only sketchy but also defies reason. Hence, we are obliged to concur with the findings recorded on this score by C the learned trial Judge that has been given the stamp of

approval by the High Court.

26. Consequently, the appeal, being devoid of merit, stands dismissed.

Kalpana K. Tripathy Appeal dismissed.

1s (1981) 1 sec 166