Gujarat high court awards life term to two women for setting another ablaze
The district court had disbelieved the dying declarations and acquitted the two cousins, in Sep 2012.
The state govt challenged the acquittal, and the high court found them guilty of murder and sentenced them.
According to case details, the deceased woman was separated from her husband and lived at her maternal home in Ranavav town of Porbandar. One of the two counsins suspected her of intimacy with her husband. The two cousins beat the woman and then poured kerosene and set her ablaze. She was rushed to the hospital. Before she succumbed to her burn injuries, her statements were recorded by a doctor, an executive magistrate, and a police sub-inspector.
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When the two cousins were put on trial, there was no direct evidence before the district court. The trial court rejected the dying declarations on the ground that a person who sustained 90-95% burn injuries would not be in a position to give a statement. The trial court also found her thumb impressions doubtful and acquitted the cousins.
The HC, after hearing the state govt's appeal, reversed the trial court's order. The bench of Justice C M Roy and Justice D M Vyas found the grounds on which the trial court rejected the dying declarations as "perverse in nature".
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The bench said, "Oblivious of the law relating to appreciation of evidence of dying declaration, the trial court recorded the said erroneous findings. The trial court lost sight of the fact that dying declaration is a valid piece of evidence and it cannot be thrown out or rejected on such technicalities, which are legally not tenable.
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The HC further stated, "We are of the considered view that the dying declarations of the deceased are true, voluntary and inspire full confidence in the mind of the court regarding the veracity of the statements given by her and the same are to be accepted as a sole basis for conviction of the accused."
The convicts pleaded for leniency in punishment, citing their responsibilities for minor children. The HC ordered life imprisonment for them but directed the govt to consider granting the benefit of remission to them after they serve 14 years of sentence.
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