Wife Burnt Alive for Money: Supreme Court Relies On Daughter’s Testimony, Dying Declaration To Uphold Conviction

The Supreme Court recently upheld the conviction and life sentence of a Karnataka man accused of setting his wife on fire over repeated demands for money from her parental home, relying heavily on the dying declaration of the woman and the testimony of their 16-year-old daughter.

Court said the prosecution had successfully proved that the husband alone was responsible for the crime, noting that the daughter had witnessed him pouring kerosene on her mother and setting her ablaze after an argument over money. It also found no reason to doubt the victim’s dying declaration made before doctors and police officials.

A Bench of Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice S V N Bhatti dismissed the appeal filed by Subramani against a 2010 Karnataka High Court judgment which had overturned his acquittal by the trial court and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Evidence against the accused

Court said the recovery of the kerosene tin, matchbox and burnt cloth pieces from the scene, coupled with the eyewitness account of the couple’s daughter, medical evidence and the dying declaration of the deceased, clearly established the guilt of the accused.

“He is the person who picked up quarrel with his deceased wife, poured kerosene and burnt her and that his wife died due to the burn injuries after consciously making a dying declaration and naming the appellant as the main culprit,” the Bench observed.

Court noted that Subramani and his wife Chennamma had been married for 17 years and had four children. While the couple initially had a happy marriage, their relationship later became strained due to the husband’s repeated demands for money from his wife’s family.

According to the prosecution, on the night of July 20, 2000, the accused questioned his wife over why she had sent her father to counsel him instead of bringing money from her parental home. Following the quarrel, he allegedly brought kerosene, poured it on her inside the bathroom and set her on fire. She suffered severe burn injuries and died four days later in hospital.

The daughter’s testimony on husband setting wife on fire

The Supreme Court said the testimony of the couple’s eldest daughter, who was around 16 years old at the time of the incident, was “very crucial and material".

The daughter told the Court that she saw her father questioning her mother over money, threatening her and then returning with kerosene before setting her ablaze. The Bench found her testimony trustworthy and consistent.

“She is an eyewitness. She has narrated the incident as was seen by her. There is no inconsistency in her statement and there is no reason to disbelieve her,” Court said, adding that there was nothing on record to suggest why she would falsely implicate her own father.

The dying declaration

Court also upheld the reliability of the dying declaration recorded from the deceased while she was undergoing treatment. In her statement, the woman had specifically accused her husband of pouring kerosene on her body and setting her on fire.

Rejecting arguments that the victim was not in a fit condition to give a statement, the Bench relied on the evidence of doctors and police officials who said she remained conscious for most of the time despite her burn injuries.

“The deceased may have been momentarily in an unconscious state due to the effect of sedatives, however, by and large... she was conscious most of the time and was in a fit state of mind to get her dying declaration recorded,” Court observed.

The Supreme Court, therefore, held that the Karnataka High Court was justified in convicting the accused under Sections 302 and 498A of the IPC [corresponding to Section 101(3) and Section 85 of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita]. It also criticised the trial court for acquitting him on what it described as “slight discrepancies” in witness statements.

Dismissing the appeal, the Bench directed the accused to surrender immediately and serve the remaining part of his sentence.

Case Title: Subramani Vs State of Karnataka

Bench: Pankaj Mithal and S V N Bhatti

Date of Judgment: March 17, 2026