{"id":97362,"date":"1992-08-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1992-08-18T18:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/om-prakash-etc-etc-vs-state-of-punjab-on-19-august-1992"},"modified":"2016-10-09T17:30:18","modified_gmt":"2016-10-09T12:00:18","slug":"om-prakash-etc-etc-vs-state-of-punjab-on-19-august-1992","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.legalindia.com\/judgments\/om-prakash-etc-etc-vs-state-of-punjab-on-19-august-1992","title":{"rendered":"Om Prakash Etc. Etc vs State Of Punjab on 19 August, 1992"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"docsource_main\">Supreme Court of India<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_title\">Om Prakash Etc. Etc vs State Of Punjab on 19 August, 1992<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_citations\">Equivalent citations: 1993 AIR  138, \t\t  1992 SCR  (3) 921<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_author\">Author: S N.P.<\/div>\n<div class=\"doc_bench\">Bench: Singh N.P. (J)<\/div>\n<pre>           PETITIONER:\nOM PRAKASH ETC. ETC.\n\n\tVs.\n\nRESPONDENT:\nSTATE OF PUNJAB\n\nDATE OF JUDGMENT19\/08\/1992\n\nBENCH:\nSINGH N.P. (J)\nBENCH:\nSINGH N.P. (J)\nREDDY, K. JAYACHANDRA (J)\n\nCITATION:\n 1993 AIR  138\t\t  1992 SCR  (3) 921\n 1992 SCC  (4) 212\t  JT 1992 (4)\t524\n 1992 SCALE  (2)196\n\n\nACT:\n     Penal Code, 1860-Sections 302,34-Conviction under-Dowry\ndeath-Dying declaration of victim-Validity of.\n     Evidence Act, 1872-Section 3-Appreciation of  evidence-\nDeath  due  to burn injuries-whether  suicide  or  homicide-\nDetermination of-Court's duty.\n     Criminal  Trial-appreciation of evidence-Death  due  to\nburn injuries-Whether suicide or homicide-Determination\t of-\nCourt's duty.\n\n\n\nHEADNOTE:\n     The  prosecution  case  was that  in  the\tmorning,  on\n17.3.1979  the\tdeceased  went to the house  of\t her  sister\n(PW.6).\t PW.6's\t house\twas in front of\t the  house  of\t the\ndeceased.  The deceased told PW. 6 that the appellants\twere\ncompelling her to bring money from her parents.\n     The appellant in Cr. A.No.282 of 1981 was the  husband,\nand the appellants in Cr. A.No. 230 of 1981 were the mother-\nin-law and the father-in-law of the deceased.\n     At about 2.30 p.m on 17.3.1979 the deceased was in\t her\nroom in the house of the appellants. Her husband along\twith\nother  co-accused including his two sisters caught  hold  of\nthe  deceased and brought her in the inner compound  of\t the\nhouse. Her father-in-law said that she should be burnt.\t The\nmother-in-law  brought the kerosene oil and sprinkled it  on\nher  body.  Then  deceased's husband set her  on  fire.\t She\nraised the cries \"save me, save me\". Her sister (PW 6)\tcame\nthere  along with her father-in-law (PW 7). They found\tthat\nthe  inner  door of the house was closed from  inside.\tThey\npushed the door and entered. At that very time PW 8 and\t one\nKulbir\tChand  hearing\tthe cries also\tentered\t the  house.\nSeeing\tthe witnesses, the accused persons ran away  to\t the\nupper  storey of the house. The witnesses  extinguished\t the\nfire   and   enquired  from  the  deceased   regarding\t the\noccurrence.  She  told them as to how she was burnt  by\t her\nhusband\t with the help of her  mother-in-law,  father-in-law\nand two sister-in-laws.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t       922\n     PW. 6 brought the ambulance car and victim was taken to\nhospital  . Police was informed. ASI came to  the  hospital.\nObtaining  the\topinion\t of the Doctor\tas  to\twhether\t the\ndeceased  was  fit  to make a  statement,  he  recorded\t the\nstatement  of  the  deceased  giving  the  details  of\t the\noccurrence.   That  statement  was  treated  as\t the   first\ninformation  report. The deceased succumbed to her  injuries\non 29.3.1979.\n     After  investigation  the\tcharge-sheet  was  submitted\nagainst\t the three appellants along with the two sisters  of\nthe appellant in Cr.A.No. 282 of 1981.\n     The Trial Court convicted the appellant in Cr.A.No. 282\nof  1981 under section 302 of the Penal Code, and  the\tHigh\nCourt  dismissed  his  appeal made  against  the  conviction\norder. He was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for\nlife.  He  was also directed to pay a fine of Rs.  5,000  in\ndefault to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years.\t The\nTrial Court acquitted his mother, father and two sisters  of\nthe  charges levelled against them. On and appeal  filed  on\nbehalf\tof the State, the High Court set aside the order  of\nacquittal passed against the mother-in-law and father-in-law\nof the deceased. They were also convicted under section\t 302\nread with section 34 of the Penal Code. Each one of them was\nsentenced  to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and  to\npay  a\tfine  of Rs. 5,000 in  default\tthereof\t to  undergo\nrigorous imprisonment for two years.\n     In\t these criminal appeals, the  appellants  challenged\nthe judgments of the High Court.\n     The appellants submitted that it was always open to the\ncourt  to  convict  the\t accused on the\t basis\tof  a  dying\ndeclaration  but  before any such order\t of  conviction\t was\npassed\t the  Court  must  be  satisfied  that\t the   dying\ndeclaration  said  to have been made by\t the  victim  before\ndeath was genuine and truthful; that in this case the  dying\ndeclaration which was said to have been made by the deceased\nbefore\tASI  did  not appear to be  a  genuine\tand  natural\nstatement;  that because of the burn injuries  the  deceased\nmust  not  have\t been  in  a  position\tto  make  any\tsuch\ndeclaration:  that reading the dying declaration as a  whole\nit  did not inspire confidence because a person\t  with\tburn\ninjuries could not make such a detailed statement; and\tthat\nthe  deceased  committed  suicide and  the  appellants\twere\nfalsely implicated.\n     Dismissing the appeals, this Court,\n\t\t\t\t\t\t       923\n     HELD: 1.01. Unless there are materials on the record to\nshow  that  the\t deceased was not in a position\t to  make  a\nstatement  it is not possible to reject her statement  which\nhas been treated as dying declaration. [926H, 927A]\n     1.02.  P.W.4, a doctor has stated on oath that  it\t was\nthe statement of the deceased which was recorded.  According\nto him, she remained conscious till 11.00 p.m. on March\t 17,\n1979. PW.2, another doctor, who examined the injuries of the\ndeceased  before  her statement was recorded  also  has\t not\nmentioned in his report that she was unconscious. During the\nexamination of PW 2 no question was put to him that  because\nof  the injuries on the person of the deceased\twhether\t she\nwill be in a position to make the dying declaration,.  There\nwere  serious burn injuries on the person of  the  deceased,\nbut  still she survived till March 29,1979, i.e.  for  about\ntwelve\tdays.  The deceased was in a position  to  make\t any\nstatement before ASI. [926E-G]\n     2.01.  Sometimes  a case of suicide is presented  as  a\ncase  of  homicide specially when the death is due  to\tburn\ninjuries.  But it need not be pointed out that whenever\t the\nvictim\tof  torture commits suicide she leaves\tbehind\tsome\nevidence-may be circumstantial in nature-to indicate that it\nis not a case of homicide but of suicide. [927F]\n     2.02.  It is the duty of the Court, in a case of  death\nbecause\t of  torture and demand for dowry,  to\texamine\t the\ncircumstances of each case and evidence adduced on behalf of\nthe  parties, for recording a finding on the question as  to\nhow the death has taken place. [927G]\n     2.03. While judging the evidence and the  circumstances\nof the case, the Court has to be conscious of the fact\tthat\na  death connected with dowry takes place inside the  house,\nwhere outsiders who can be said to be independent  witnesses\nin the traditional sense are not expected to be present. The\nfinding of guilt on the charge of murder has to be  recorded\non the basis of circumstances of each case and the  evidence\nadduced before the Court. [927H,928A]\n     2.04. In the instant case, the occurrence took place in\nthe  open  courtyard  during  the  day-time  which  is\t not\nconsistent with the theory of suicide. Apart from that,\t the\ndying  declaration of the victim along with the evidence  of\nPWs.  6,7 and 8 the charges levelled against the  appellants\nare fully established. [928B]\n\t\t\t\t\t\t       924\n\n\n\nJUDGMENT:\n<\/pre>\n<p>     CRIMINAL  APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal\t No.<br \/>\n282 of 1981.\n<\/p>\n<p>     From  the\tJudgment  and Order dated  7.1.1981  of\t the<br \/>\nPunjab\tand  Haryana High Court in Crl. Appeal No.  1235  of<br \/>\n1979.\n<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t    WITH<br \/>\n\t Criminal Appeal No. 230 of 1981.\n<\/p>\n<p>\t Mrs.\tKawal  Jit  Kocher  and\t J.D.Jain  for\t the<br \/>\n\t Appellant.\n<\/p>\n<p>\t S.Bajaj and R.S.Suri for the Respondent.\n<\/p>\n<p>\t The Judgment of the Court was delivered by<br \/>\n     N.P.SINGH,\t  J.   Appellant  Om  Parkash\thas    been<br \/>\nconvicted  under section 302 of the Penal Code and has\tbeen<br \/>\nsentenced to undergo rogorous imprisonment for life. He\t has<br \/>\nalso been directed to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000 in default  to<br \/>\nundergo rigorous imprisonment for two years.\n<\/p>\n<p>     Appellants Sheela Wanti and Rup Lal, who are the mother<br \/>\nand  father of the aforesaid appellant Om Parkash, had\tbeen<br \/>\nacquitted by the Trial Court of the charges levelled against<br \/>\nthem,  but  on\tan appeal filed on behalf of  the  State  of<br \/>\nPunjab before the High Court the order of acquittal has been<br \/>\nset  aside  and they have been convicted under\tsection\t 302<br \/>\nread with section 34 of the Penal Code. Each one of them has<br \/>\nbeen sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and<br \/>\nto  pay\t a fine of Rs. 5,000 in default thereof\t to  undergo<br \/>\nrigorous imprisonment for two years.\n<\/p>\n<p>     The  prosecution  case is that on\tMarch  17,1979\tRita<br \/>\n(since\tdeceased) went to her sister Shushma (PW 6)  in\t the<br \/>\nmorning who was residing in the house in front of the  house<br \/>\nof Rita aforesaid. Rita told her sister that accused persons<br \/>\nwere  compelling  her to bring money from her  parents.\t The<br \/>\nappellant  Om  Parkash is the husband, Sheela Wanti  is\t the<br \/>\nmother-in-law  and  Rup\t Lal is the  father-in-law  of\tRita<br \/>\naforesaid. It is further the case of the prosecution that at<br \/>\nabout  2.30  p.m. the same day Rita was in her room  in\t the<br \/>\nhouse  of  the appellants. Om Parkash along with  other\t co-<br \/>\naccused including his two sisters Kanchan and Shushma (since<br \/>\nacquitted) caught hold of Rita and brought her in the  inner<br \/>\ncompound  of  the house. Rup Lal the father-in-law  of\tRita<br \/>\nsaid that she should be burnt. Sheela<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">\t\t\t\t\t\t       925<\/span><br \/>\nWanti,\tthe  mother-in-law,  brought the  Kerosene  oil\t and<br \/>\nsprinkled  it on her body and then Om Prakash, husband,\t set<br \/>\nher  on\t fire. She raised the cries &#8220;save  me&#8221;.\t His  sister<br \/>\nShushma (PW 6) who, as already stated above, was living just<br \/>\nopposite  the house of the appellants came there along\twith<br \/>\nher  father-in-law Bhajan Lal (PW 7). They found  the  inner<br \/>\ndoor  of the house closed from inside. They pushed the\tdoor<br \/>\nand entered inside the compound. At that very time Tare\t Lal<br \/>\n(PW  8) and Kulbir Chand hearing the cries also\t entered  in<br \/>\nthe  house. Seeing the witnesses aforesaid inside the  house<br \/>\nthe  accused  persons ran away to the upper  storey  of\t the<br \/>\nhouse.\tThe  fire was extinguished by  the  witnesses.\tThey<br \/>\nenquired   from\t Rita  (since  deceased\t )   regarding\t the<br \/>\noccurrence and she told them as to how she was burnt by\t her<br \/>\nhusband\t with the help of her mother-in-law  and  sister-in-<br \/>\nlaws.\n<\/p>\n<p>     Thereafter the ambulance car was brought by Shushma (PW\n<\/p>\n<p>6)  and\t victim\t was taken to  S.G.T.B\tHospital,  Amritsar.<br \/>\nPolice was informed. ASI Amritlal of Police Station  Kotwali<br \/>\ncame to the hospital. He obtained the opinion of the  Doctor<br \/>\nas  to whether Rita was fit to make a statement.  Thereafter<br \/>\nat  6.25 p.m the same evening he recorded the  statement  of<br \/>\nRita  giving the details of the occurrence.  That  statement<br \/>\nwas treated as the first information report. Rita  succumbed<br \/>\nto her injuries on March 29,1979.\n<\/p>\n<p>     After  investigation  the\tcharge-sheet  was  submitted<br \/>\nagainst\t the three appellants along with the two sisters  of<br \/>\nappellant  Om  Parkash. As already stated above,  the  Trial<br \/>\nCourt convicted only appellant Om Parkash and acquitted\t his<br \/>\nmother,\t father\t and  two sisters of  the  charges  levelled<br \/>\nagainst\t them. However, on an appeal filed on behalf of\t the<br \/>\nState  of  Punjab,  the order of  acquittal  passed  against<br \/>\nSheela\tWanti and Rup Lal, the mother-in-law and  father-in-<br \/>\nlaw of the deceased, was set aside by the High Court.\n<\/p>\n<p>     The  Trial Court as well as the High Court have  placed<br \/>\nreliance  on  the  statement made by the  victim  which\t was<br \/>\ninitially treated as the first information report but  after<br \/>\nher  death has become her dying declaration. She has  stated<br \/>\nin  detail as to how the accused persons used to harass\t her<br \/>\nfor not bringing sufficient dowry and pressed her parents to<br \/>\nprovide\t sufficient cash in lieu of dowry. For\tthat  reason<br \/>\nshe was beaten by the members of the family and sent to\t her<br \/>\nparental  home before the occurrence. Only about 21\/22\tdays<br \/>\nbefore the date of the occurrence due to the intervention of<br \/>\nsome  respectable persons she returned to the house  of\t her<br \/>\nhusband but<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">\t\t\t\t\t\t       926<\/span><br \/>\nthere  was no charge in the attitude of the  family  members.<br \/>\nThereafter,  she  has  stated as to how on the\tday  of\t the<br \/>\noccurrence she was taken out from her room and kerosene\t oil<br \/>\nwas sprinkled on her body and her husband Om Parkash set her<br \/>\non  fire with the matchstick. She also stated  that  hearing<br \/>\nher  cries  her\t sister Shushma (PW  6),  her  father-in-law<br \/>\nBhajan Lal (PW 7) and others came and extiguished the fire.\n<\/p>\n<p>     The  learned  counsel  appearing  for  the\t  appellants<br \/>\nsubmitted that it is always open to the Court to convict the<br \/>\naccused\t on the basis of a dying declaration but before\t any<br \/>\nsuch  order  of\t conviction  is passed\tthe  Court  must  be<br \/>\nsatisfied that the dying declaration said  to have been made<br \/>\nby  the\t victim before death is genuine\t and  truthful.\t She<br \/>\npointed\t out that the so-called dying declaration  which  is<br \/>\nsaid to have been made by Rita before ASI Amrit Lal does  not<br \/>\nappear\tto be a genuine and natural statement. According  to<br \/>\nher,  because  of the burn injuries Rita must not  be  in  a<br \/>\nposition  to make any such declaration. In this\t connection,<br \/>\nshe  drew  our\tattention to the  post\tmortem\t examination<br \/>\nreport of Rita and the findings of Doctor who held the\tpost<br \/>\nmortem\texamination. It was urged that the Doctor had  found<br \/>\nsecond\tand first degree septic burns on the person of\tRita<br \/>\nand  as\t such by 6.25 when she is alleged to have  made\t the<br \/>\ndying  declaration, in normal course of the event  she\tmust<br \/>\nnot  be\t in  aposition to make\tany  such  declaration.\t Dr.<br \/>\nDevinderpal Singh (PW 4) has stated on oath that it was\t the<br \/>\nstatement of Rita which was recorded, According to him,\t she<br \/>\nremained  conscious till 11.00 p.m. on March 17,  1979.\t Dr.<br \/>\nHaris  Chander\tVaid (PW 2), who examined  the\tinjuries  of<br \/>\nRita  before  her  statement  was  recorded,  also  has\t not<br \/>\nmentioned in his report that she was unconscious, It  may be<br \/>\nmentioned  that\t during\t the examination  of  aforesaid\t Dr.<br \/>\nHarish\tChander Vaid (PW 2) no question was put to him\tthat<br \/>\nbecause\t of the injuries on the person of Rita\twhether\t she<br \/>\nwill  be in a position to make the dying declaration. It  is<br \/>\ntrue that there were serious burn injuries, on the person of<br \/>\nRita  but  still she survived till March 29, 1979  i.e.\t for<br \/>\nabout twelve days. in this background we are not inclined to<br \/>\nhold  that because of the burn injuries, Rita was not  in  a<br \/>\nposition to make any statement before ASI Amrit Lal.\n<\/p>\n<p>     The  learned counsel then pointed out that reading\t the<br \/>\ndying declaration as a whole it does not inspire  confidence<br \/>\nbecause\t a  person  with burn injuries cannot  make  such  a<br \/>\ndetailed   statement.  In  our\topinion\t unless\t there\t are<br \/>\nmaterials  on  the  record  to sow  that  Rita\twas  not  in<br \/>\naposition to make<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">\t\t\t\t\t\t       927<\/span><br \/>\na statement it is not possible to reject her statement which<br \/>\nhas been treated as dying declaration.\tAs already mentioned<br \/>\nabove,\tRita  was in a position to make statement  has\tbeen<br \/>\nproved by two Doctors apart from the A.S.I.\n<\/p>\n<p>     Moreover in the present case it cannot be said that the<br \/>\nconviction  of\tthe  appellants rests solely  on  the  dying<br \/>\ndeclaration  of the victim.  The evidence of  Shushma  (PW6)<br \/>\nsister of the victim, Bhajan LAl (PW 7) father-in-law of the<br \/>\nsister of the victim, Tarsm Lal (PW 8), who had also entered<br \/>\nin  the\t courtyard, corroborates the statement made  by\t the<br \/>\nvictim.\t  The  Trial Court as well as the  High\t Court\thave<br \/>\ndiscussed  their evidence in detail.  They have said  as  to<br \/>\nhow  hearing the cries to Rita they entered  after  forcibly<br \/>\nopening\t the door and saw Rita being burnt.  Rita told\tthem<br \/>\nas  to how she had been put to fire by the  accused  persons<br \/>\nincluding these three appellants.  The statement so made  by<br \/>\nRita to the three witnesses aforesaid shall be deemed to  be<br \/>\noral  dying declaration of the victim.\tThe  witnesses\thave<br \/>\nalso  stated as to how they extinguished the fire  and\ttook<br \/>\nher in ambulance to the hospital.\n<\/p>\n<p>     It is not in dispute that Shushma (PW6), sister of\t the<br \/>\nvictim, and her father-in-law Bhajan Lal (PW7) were  staying<br \/>\nin a house just opposite to the house of the accused persons<br \/>\nonly a road intervening.  As such they are the most  natural<br \/>\nwitnesses and we find no reason to take a contrary view than<br \/>\nthe view taken by the High Court, so far as the veracity  of<br \/>\nthe aforesaid witnesses are concerned.\n<\/p>\n<p>     It was then submitted on behalf of the appellants\tthat<br \/>\nit  appears that Rita committed suicide and  the  appellants<br \/>\nhave been falsely implicated for an offence of murder by the<br \/>\ninterested  witnesses.\tIt is true that sometimes a case  of<br \/>\nsuicide\t is presented as a case of homicide  specially\twhen<br \/>\nthe  death  is\tdue to burn injuries.  But it  need  not  be<br \/>\npointed\t out  that whenever the victim\tof  torture  commits<br \/>\nsuicide\t   she\t leaves\t  behind   some\t  evidence-may\t  be<br \/>\ncircumstantial\tin nature to indicate that it is not a\tcase<br \/>\nof  homicide but of  suicide.  It is the duty of the  Court,<br \/>\nin a case of death because of torture and demand for  dowry,<br \/>\nto  examine  the  circumstances of each\t case  and  evidence<br \/>\nadduced on behalf of the parties, for recording a finding on<br \/>\nthe  question  as to how the death has taken  place.   While<br \/>\njudging the evidence and the circumstances of the case,\t the<br \/>\nCourt has to be conscious of the fact that a death connected<br \/>\nwith dowry takes place inside the house, where outsiders who<br \/>\ncan be said to be independent witnesses in the<br \/>\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">\t\t\t\t\t\t       928<\/span><br \/>\ntraditional  sense,  are not expected to  be  present.\t The<br \/>\nfinding of guilt on the charge of murder has to be  recorded<br \/>\non the basis of circumstances of each case and the  evidence<br \/>\nadduced\t before\t the  Court.   In  the\tinstant\t case,\t the<br \/>\noccurrence took place in the open courtyard during the\tday-<br \/>\ntime  which  is not consistent with the theory\tof  suicide.<br \/>\nApart  from  that,  as\talready\t stated\t above,\t the   Dying<br \/>\nDeclaration of the victim along with the evidence of PWs  6,<br \/>\n7  and\t8,  which  we  find  no\t reason\t to  discard,  fully<br \/>\nestablishes the charges levelled against the appellants.\n<\/p>\n<p>     In the result, the appeals are dismissed.\n<\/p>\n<pre>V.P.R.\t\t\t\t\t  Appeals dismissed.\n<span class=\"hidden_text\">\t\t\t\t\t\t       929<\/span>\n\n\n\n<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court of India Om Prakash Etc. Etc vs State Of Punjab on 19 August, 1992 Equivalent citations: 1993 AIR 138, 1992 SCR (3) 921 Author: S N.P. Bench: Singh N.P. (J) PETITIONER: OM PRAKASH ETC. ETC. Vs. RESPONDENT: STATE OF PUNJAB DATE OF JUDGMENT19\/08\/1992 BENCH: SINGH N.P. (J) BENCH: SINGH N.P. (J) REDDY, K. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-supreme-court-of-india"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Om Prakash Etc. 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