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Synopsis

The Supreme Court has set free a man of charges of dowry harassment and abetment to suicide of his wife, finding serious doubt about the correctness of the dying declaration.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal allowed an appeal filed by one Shambhubhai Kalabhai Raval, holding that the prosecution had failed to prove the guilt of the appellant beyond a reasonable doubt. 

The marriage between the appellant and the deceased was ten years old when on July 31, 1994, the deceased poured kerosene on her own body and set herself ablaze. The burn injuries suffered by her were the cause of death, on August 04, 1994. The prosecution mainly relied upon the dying declaration of the deceased between 09:45 PM to 10:00 PM on July 31, 1994. 

"Unfortunately, both the father and the brother did not support the prosecution and they were declared hostile. Admittedly, nothing could be brought on record in their cross-examination conducted by the public prosecutor for the benefit of the prosecution," the bench noted.

Now, what remains is that the dying declaration. If the conviction is to be based only on the dying declaration, necessarily, it must be of an unimpeachable quality, the bench said

Going through the dying declaration, the bench said that according to the deceased, it was the conduct of the mother-in-law, which prompted her to take the extreme step. It is pointed out that initially the mother-in-law was made an accused but she died, it added.

However, it is not sufficient to come to the conclusion that the act done by the husband was the cause for immediate instigation to the deceased to take the extreme step of burning herself, the bench said.

"What is most important is that Bhavna, the sister of the deceased was present when the alleged act of mother-in-law quarrelling with the deceased and her husband giving two or three stick blows to the deceased took place. The prosecution has not explained why the evidence of this material witness was withheld from the Court. This is one reason for drawing an adverse inference against the prosecution," the bench said.

Among other factors, the bench pointed out that the dying declaration does not bear the endorsement of the doctor regarding the fitness of the deceased to make a statement; the statement was said to have been recorded at 9:45 pm but the records showed she was barely able to tell her name at 10:10 pm.

"Even the police personnel, who recorded the panchnama has stated that the deceased was not in a position to speak; and Dr Rajendra, who examined the deceased stated in the cross-examination that when he asked the deceased about the cause of burn injuries, she disclosed that she poured kerosene on herself. But she gave no reason why she did the act", it noted.

"These factors taken together create a serious doubt about the correctness of the dying declaration. Therefore, the dying declaration will have to be kept out of consideration. In any case, the dying declaration is not of that sterling quality on which the conviction can be based in absence of any other evidence. Therefore, the prosecution has failed to prove the guilt of the appellant beyond a reasonable doubt," the bench said.

The court, thus, acquitted the appellant.

Case Title: Shambhubhai Kalabhai Raval Vs State of Gujarat