Citation : 2026 Latest Caselaw 1809 MP
Judgement Date : 20 February, 2026
NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2026:MPHC-JBP:16054
1 CRA-2773-2014
IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH
AT JABALPUR
BEFORE
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE VIVEK KUMAR SINGH
&
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE AJAY KUMAR NIRANKARI
ON THE 20th OF FEBRUARY, 2026
CRIMINAL APPEAL No. 2773 of 2014
UMESH @ DEENDAYAL
Versus
THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH
Appearance:
Shri Durgesh Gupta - Counsel for the appellant
Shri Amit Pandey - Government Advocate for respondent-State
Reserved on : 15/10/2025
Pronounced on : 20/02/2026
ORDER
Per: Justice Ajay Kumar Nirankari
This appeal has been preferred by the appellant under Section 374(2) of Cr.P.C against the judgment dated 31/07/2014 passed by First Additional Sessions Judge to the Court of Additional Judge Chhindwara in
S.T.No.186/2013, whereby the appellant has been convicted for an offence punishable under Section 302 of IPC and sentenced to undergo LI with fine of Rs.1,000/- and under Section 201 of IPC and sentenced to undergo RI for seven years and fine of Rs.1,000/- with default stipulations.
2. The brief facts necessary for proper adjudication of the case are that on 13/04/2013 at about 11:30 a.m.deceased Lalita Bai in a burnt
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2 CRA-2773-2014 condition reached at Police Station Tamia, District Chhindwara, and made an oral complaint. She stated that she, along with her husband Umesh, her child Navin and her uncle had gone to explore Patalcoat. After visiting Patalcoat, they had food. Thereafter, her husband attempted to consume liquor and when she restrained him, a quarrel ensued. She further alleged that at about 3:00 a.m., her husband and uncle unsuccessfully attempted to kill her. Subsequently, after some time her husband poured acid or some other inflammable substance on her, set her on fire and threw her into a ditch. Thereafter, her husband fled from the spot along with the uncle and also took away her son Navin. After some time, she somehow managed to come out of the ditch and reached near a water tank. Two girls, namely Basanti and Kavita, then took her to the police station.On the basis of the said oral
complaint, the police registered Crime No.54/2013 under Sections 307, 326- B, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code against the present appellant and other co-accused who known as topi wale uncle. After registration of FIR, the deceased was sent for medical examination. She was medically examined on 13/04/2013 at about 11:50 a.m. As per the MLC report, she had sustained approximately 82-90% burn injuries. Considering the seriousness of her condition, the police commenced investigation, recorded statements of witnesses, seized relevant articles, and arrested the appellant.
3. During investigation, the memorandum of the appellant under Section 27 of the Evidence Act was recorded and on his instance, the dead body of a child aged about six years was recovered in a decomposed condition.
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4. During treatment, on 22/04/2013, Lalita Bai succumbed due to her injuries. Post-mortem was conducted, and as per the medical opinion, she died due to superficial burn injuries. The post-mortem of child Navin was also conducted and the cause of death was opined to be strangulation. The competent authority also recorded the dying declaration of the deceased.
5. After completion of investigation, the police filed a charge-sheet before the Magistrate against the appellant and co-accused Laxman, alleging that they had conspired to kill the deceased and her son. It was also alleged that under the pretext of exploring Patalcoat, they vacated the rented house where the deceased was residing, took her to Patalcoat by Magic Car, poured an inflammable substance on her and set her on fire and committed the murder of six-year-old child by strangulation.
6. The Judicial Magistrate first class after committal forwarded the case to session court for trial and the matter was registered as S.T.No.186/13 before the First Additional Sessions Judge, Chhindwara.
7. Learned trial court formulated the charges under Section 302 and in alternative 302/34 & 201 of IPC against the present appellant and co- accused Laxman.Appellant refused to accept the charge and wished to face the trial.
8. In order to substantiate its case, the prosecution examined 24 witnesses and exhibited documents marked as Exhibits P-1 to P-14. In his
statement recorded under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before the trial Court, the appellant denied all the incriminating
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4 CRA-2773-2014
circumstances appearing against him and pleaded innocence. He stated that he had not committed any offence and he is not the husband of the deceased. According to him, the actual husband of the deceased, namely Kailash, falsely implicated him in the present case in order to save himself.
9. In defence, the appellant examined his wife Smt.Koushalya as DW-1, Yuvraj Pawar, Upsarpanch as DW-2 and Jairam Kadwe, Secretary of the concerned Gram Panchayat as DW-3.
10. Learned trial court after appreciating the material available on record reached to the conclusion that the appellant and his uncle committed murder of deceased Lalita and her minor son Navin. Thus, by holding him guilty awarded life imprisonment under Section 302 of IPC.
11. Being aggrieved by the impugned judgment dated 31/07/2014, the present appeal has been preferred before this Court on the grounds that the appellant is innocent and learned trial Court has failed to properly appreciate the material available on record. It is contended that there was no intention of the appellant to kill deceased Lalita or her minor son Naveen. It is further submitted that the deceased was the legally wedded wife of Kailash, and Kailash committed the alleged offence. In order to protect and defend himself, he has falsely implicated the present appellant in the case.
12. Learned counsel for the appellant has contended that the appellant is innocent and has not committed any offence. It is argued that the deceased in her dying declaration, has stated that her husband poured acid or
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5 CRA-2773-2014 some other inflammable substance upon her. The deceased was not the legally wedded wife of the appellant; rather, she was the legally wedded wife of Kailash, who according to the defence committed the offence and falsely implicated the present appellant. It is further submitted that even if it is assumed that the appellant poured acid upon the deceased, there was no intention to cause her death and the incident occurred in a sudden quarrel and under grave and sudden provocation. Therefore, the appellant is entitled to the benefit of Section 304 Part I or Part II of the Indian Penal Code. In support of his submissions, learned counsel has placed reliance upon the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court i.e Maniben vs. State of Gujarat, reported in (2009) 5 Supreme 700.
For ready reference relevant para 14 is reproduced as under:-
"It is established from the dying declaration of the deceased that she was living separately from her mother-in-law, the appellant herein, for many years and that on the day in question she had a quarrel with the appellant at her house. It is also clear from the evidence on record that immediately after the quarrel she along with her daughter came to fetch water and when she was returning, the appellant came and threw a burning tonsil on the clothes of the deceased. Since the deceased was wearing a terylene cloth at that relevant point of time, it aggravated the fire which caused the burn injuries. There is also evidence on record to prove and establish that the action of the appellant to throw the burning tonsil was preceded by a quarrel between the deceased and the appellant. From the aforesaid evidence on record it cannot be said that the appellant had the intention that such action on her part would cause the death or such bodily injury to the deceased, which was
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6 CRA-2773-2014 sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause the death of the deceased. Therefore, in our considered opinion, the case cannot be said to be covered under clause (4) of Section 300 of IPC. We are, however, of the considered opinion that the case of the appellant is covered under Section 304 Part II of IPC."
13. Counsel has also relief on Bengai Mandal @ Begai Mandal vs. State of Bihar, reported in (2010) 1 Supreme 49. For ready reference relevant para no.18 is reproduced as under:-
However, keeping in mind the facts that the deceased had turned down the sexual advances made by the appellant and that he had accompanied the accused no.1 who was carrying a vessel containing acid in his hand at the dead of the night and in an unearthly hour, it can be said with certainty that the appellant had the intention to inflict bodily harm on the deceased otherwise the appellant would not have accompanied the accused no.1 to the house of the deceased. Since the appellant was present at the scene of occurrence and simply watched the accused no.1 throwing acid on the deceased without preventing the accused no.1 from doing so clearly establishes that the appellant had intended to cause injury to and also disfigurement of the deceased and as such is liable to be punished under Section 326 IPC. Also since the appellant could be said to be possessing knowledge that the throwing of acid is likely to cause death of the deceased, a case under Section 304 part II is also made out. The appellant has already served rigorous imprisonment for a period of seven years. Considering the facts that the death ensued after twenty six days of the incident as a result of septicemia and not as a consequence of burn injuries, we are of the considered view that the period already undergone by the appellant would be sufficient to meet the ends of justice. We, therefore, partly allow the appeal to the
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7 CRA-2773-2014 aforesaid extent and direct that the appellant be released forthwith if not wanted in connection with any other case.
14. In Anbazhagan (supra) relied upon by learned counsel for the appellant the deceased succumbed to burn injuries after some time. While examining the element of intention, the Hon'ble Court observed that although the accused at the time of pouring the inflammable substance, had knowledge that such an act was likely to cause death but there was no clear intention to cause death. The Court reiterated that every murder is culpable homicide, but every culpable homicide is not murder, and the determination depends upon the degree of intention and knowledge attributable to the accused in the facts and circumstances of each case.
The relevant paragraph no.59 & 60 are reproduced as under:-
"We may lastly refer to the decision of this Court in Pulicherla Nagaraju v. State of A.P., (2006) 11 SCC 444 [LQ/SC/2006/723] : (2007) 1 SCC (Cri) 500, [LQ/SC/2006/723] wherein this Court enumerated some of the circumstances relevant to finding out whether there was any intention to cause death on the part of the accused. This Court observed : (SCC pp. 457-58, para
29)
"29. Therefore, the court should proceed to decide the pivotal question of intention, with care and caution, as that will decide whether the case falls under Section 302 or 304 Part I or 304 Part II. Many petty or insignificant matters -- plucking of a fruit, straying of cattle, quarrel of children, utterance of a rude word or even an objectionable glance, may lead to altercations and group
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8 CRA-2773-2014 clashes culminating in deaths. Usual motives like revenge, greed, jealousy or suspicion may be totally absent in such cases. There may be no intention. There may be no premeditation. In fact, there may not even be criminality. At the other end of the spectrum, there may be cases of murder where the accused attempts to avoid the penalty for murder by attempting to put forth a case that there was no intention to cause death. It is for the courts to ensure that the cases of murder punishable under Section 302, are not converted into offences punishable under Section 304 Part I/II, or cases of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, are treated as murder punishable under Section 302. The intention to cause death can be gathered generally from a combination of a few or several of the following, among other, circumstances : (i) nature of the weapon used; (ii) whether the weapon was carried by the accused or was picked up from the spot; (iii) whether the blow is aimed at a vital part of the body; (iv) the amount of force employed in causing injury; (v) whether the act was in the course of sudden quarrel or sudden fight or free for all fight; (vi) whether the incident occurs by chance or whether there was any premeditation; (vii) whether there was any prior enmity or whether the deceased was a stranger; (viii) whether there was any grave and sudden provocation, and if so, the cause for such provocation; (ix) whether it was in the heat of passion;
(x) whether the person inflicting the injury has taken undue advantage or has acted in a cruel and unusual manner; (xi) whether the accused dealt a single blow or several blows. The above list of circumstances is, of course, not exhaustive and there may be several other special circumstances with reference to individual cases which may throw light on the question of intention."
(Emphasis supplied)
60. Few important principles of law discernible from the aforesaid discussion may be summed up thus:-
"(1) When the court is confronted with the question, what offence the accused could be said to have committed, the true test is to find out the intention or
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9 CRA-2773-2014 knowledge of the accused in doing the act. If the intention or knowledge was such as is described in Clauses (1) to (4) of Section 300 of the IPC, the act will be murder even though only a single injury was caused.
To illustrate : 'A' is bound hand and foot. 'B' comes and placing his revolver against the head of 'A', shoots 'A' in his head killing him instantaneously. Here, there will be no difficulty in holding that the intention of 'B' in shooting 'A' was to kill him, though only single injury was caused. The case would, therefore, be of murder falling within Clause (1) of Section 300 of the IPC. Taking another instance, 'B' sneaks into the bed room of his enemy 'A' while the latter is asleep on his bed. Taking aim at the left chest of 'A', 'B' forcibly plunges a sword in the left chest of 'A' and runs away. 'A' dies shortly thereafter. The injury to 'A' was found to be sufficient in ordinary course of nature to cause death. There may be no difficulty in holding that 'B' intentionally inflicted the particular injury found to be caused and that the said injury was objectively sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. This would bring the act of 'B' within Clause (3) of Section 300 of the IPC and render him guilty of the offence of murder although only single injury was caused.
(2) Even when the intention or knowledge of the accused may fall within Clauses (1) to (4) of Section 300 of the IPC, the act of the accused which would otherwise be murder, will be taken out of the purview of murder, if the accused's case attracts any one of the five exceptions enumerated in that section. In the event of the case falling within any of those exceptions, the offence would be culpable homicide not amounting to murder, falling within Part 1 of Section 304 of the IPC, if the case of the accused is such as to fall within Clauses (1) to (3) of Section 300 of the IPC. It would be offence under Part II of Section 304 if the case is such as to fall within Clause (4) of Section 300 of the IPC. Again, the intention or knowledge of the accused may be such that only 2nd or 3rd part of Section 299 of the IPC, may be attracted but not any of the clauses of Section 300 of the IPC. In that situation also, the
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10 CRA-2773-2014 offence would be culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 of the IPC. It would be an offence under Part I of that section, if the case fall within 2nd part of Section 299, while it would be an offence under Part II of Section 304 if the case fall within 3rd part of Section 299 of the IPC.
(3) To put it in other words, if the act of an accused person falls within the first two clauses of cases of culpable homicide as described in Section 299 of the IPC it is punishable under the first part of Section 304. If, however, it falls within the third clause, it is punishable under the second part of Section 304. In effect, therefore, the first part of this section would apply when there is 'guilty intention,' whereas the second part would apply when there is no such intention, but there is 'guilty knowledge'.
(4) Even if single injury is inflicted, if that particular injury was intended, and objectively that injury was sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death, the requirements of Clause 3rdly to Section 300 of the IPC, are fulfilled and the offence would be murder.
(5) Section 304 of the IPC will apply to the following classes of cases: (i) when the case falls under one or the other of the clauses of Section 300, but it is covered by one of the exceptions to that Section, (ii) when the injury caused is not of the higher degree of likelihood which is covered by the expression 'sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death' but is of a lower degree of likelihood which is generally spoken of as an injury 'likely to cause death' and the case does not fall under Clause (2) of Section 300 of the IPC, (iii) when the act is done with the knowledge that death is likely to ensue but without intention to cause death or an injury likely to cause death.
To put it more succinctly, the difference between the two parts of Section 304 of the IPC is that under the first part, the crime of murder is first established and the accused is then given the benefit of one of the
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11 CRA-2773-2014 exceptions to Section 300 of the IPC, while under the second part, the crime of murder is never established at all. Therefore, for the purpose of holding an accused guilty of the offence punishable under the second part of Section 304 of the IPC, the accused need not bring his case within one of the exceptions to Section 300 of the IPC.
(6) The word 'likely' means probably and it is distinguished from more 'possibly'. When chances of happening are even or greater than its not happening, we may say that the thing will 'probably happen'. In reaching the conclusion, the court has to place itself in the situation of the accused and then judge whether the accused had the knowledge that by the act he was likely to cause death.
(7) The distinction between culpable homicide (Section 299 of the IPC) and murder (Section 300 of the IPC) has always to be carefully borne in mind while dealing with a charge under Section 302 of the IPC. Under the category of unlawful homicides, both, the cases of culpable homicide amounting to murder and those not amounting to murder would fall. Culpable homicide is not murder when the case is brought within the five exceptions to Section 300 of the IPC. But, even though none of the said five exceptions are pleaded or prima facie established on the evidence on record, the prosecution must still be required under the law to bring the case under any of the four clauses of Section 300 of the IPC to sustain the charge of murder. If the prosecution fails to discharge this onus in establishing any one of the four clauses of Section 300 of the IPC, namely, 1stly to 4thly, the charge of murder would not be made out and the case may be one of culpable homicide not amounting to murder as described under Section 299 of the IPC.
(8) The court must address itself to the question of mens rea. If Clause thirdly of Section 300 is to be applied, the assailant must intend the particular injury inflicted on the deceased. This ingredient could rarely
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12 CRA-2773-2014 be proved by direct evidence. Inevitably, it is a matter of inference to be drawn from the proved circumstances of the case. The court must necessarily have regard to the nature of the weapon used, part of the body injured, extent of the injury, degree of force used in causing the injury, the manner of attack, the circumstances preceding and attendant on the attack.
(9) Intention to kill is not the only intention that makes a culpable homicide a murder. The intention to cause injury or injuries sufficient in the ordinary cause of nature to cause death also makes a culpable homicide a murder if death has actually been caused and intention to cause such injury or injuries is to be inferred from the act or acts resulting in the injury or injuries.
(10) When single injury inflicted by the accused results in the death of the victim, no inference, as a general principle, can be drawn that the accused did not have the intention to cause the death or that particular injury which resulted in the death of the victim. Whether an accused had the required guilty intention or not, is a question of fact which has to be determined on the facts of each case.
(11) Where the prosecution proves that the accused had the intention to cause death of any person or to cause bodily injury to him and the intended injury is sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death, then, even if he inflicts a single injury which results in the death of the victim, the offence squarely falls under Clause thirdly of Section 300 of the IPC unless one of the exceptions applies.
(12) In determining the question, whether an accused had guilty intention or guilty knowledge in a case where only a single injury is inflicted by him and that injury is sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death, the fact that the act is done without premeditation in a sudden fight or quarrel, or that the circumstances justify that the injury was accidental or unintentional, or that he only intended a simple injury, would lead to the inference of guilty knowledge, and the offence would
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13 CRA-2773-2014 be one under Section 304 Part II of the IPC."
15. Per contra, counsel for State has contended that the deceased herself, despite having sustained 80-90% burn injuries reached the police station and lodged FIR against the present appellant. It is submitted that although the marriage of the deceased was solemnized with Kailash (PW-
16), she subsequently came into contact with the appellant and developed a relationship of love and affair with him. Thereafter, she left her matrimonial home along with her son Naveen and started residing with the appellant in the rented house of Deepak Soni (PW-9).
16. The prosecution further alleges that the appellant in connivance with the co-accused, hatched a conspiracy to kill the deceased. In furtherance of the said plan, the appellant got the rented premises of Deepak Soni vacated and loaded all the household articles into his Magic vehicle. The loaded articles were then unloaded at the house of his relative, and thereafter, under the pretext of exploring Patalcoat, they proceeded to Patalcoat to execute the plan. It is also contended that the incident did not occur due to sudden provocation; rather, it was pre-planned. In pursuance of the said plan, the accused took the deceased and her minor son to the place of occurrence, poured an inflammable substance upon the deceased, set her on fire, and threw her into a ditch. Thereafter, he took away her son, who was allegedly killed by strangulation, and an attempt was also made to burn his body. As per the post-mortem report, the deceased died due to superficial burn
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14 CRA-2773-2014 injuries, whereas the minor child died due to strangulation.
17. We have heard the counsel for parties at length and perused the record.
18. PW-20 Virendra Dhurve, who was working at the concerned petrol pump, stated in his deposition that one day prior to the incident, the accused came to the petrol pump in a Magic vehicle and purchased petrol in a plastic bottle. He duly identified the present appellant before the Court.
19. The independent witnesses, PW-14 Basanti Bharti & PW-23 Kavita were also examined before the trial Court. In their depositions, they stated that upon being asked, the deceased informed them that she had been set on fire by her husband Umesh and the co-accused, whom she identified as the "Topi wale uncle."
20. PW-7 Ramgopal Soni, Tahsildar, after obtaining a certificate from the concerned doctor regarding the mental fitness of the deceased, recorded her dying declaration. In the said declaration, the deceased stated that her husband's name was Umesh and he had poured acid or some other inflammable substance upon her, set her on fire, and thrown her into a ditch. While undergoing medical treatment, the deceased succumbed to her injuries.
21. The post-mortem of the deceased was conducted by Dr. Sanjay Rai (PW-11). In his deposition before the trial Court, he stated that the deceased died due to superficial burn injuries.
22. PW-13, Dr. Vijay Singh, who conducted the post-mortem of
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15 CRA-2773-2014 deceased Naveen, opined in his report that Naveen died due to strangulation and thereafter, some inflammable substance was poured on the body in an attempt to destroy the evidence. In his deposition before the trial Court, he affirmed that the cause of death was strangulation.
23. PW-16 Kailash Narware was examined before the trial court. In his deposition, he admitted that the deceased, Lalita, was his legally wedded wife. However, about one year prior to the incident, the deceased left his house along with their son and started residing with Umesh.
24. The testimony of PW-16 was corroborated by Dinesh Narware, who is the brother of Kailash Narware and the brother-in-law of the deceased. He admitted that the marriage between Kailash and the deceased had been solemnized and a son Naveen was born out of their wedlock. He further stated that the deceased had left Kailash's house along with her son approximately one year prior to the date of the incident.
25. Dipak Soni (PW-9), in his deposition before the trial court, stated in his examination-in-chief that the deceased, Lalita had taken his house on rent along with her son. Naveen. Naveen was studying at Unique School, Betul. He further deposed that the husband of the deceased came in a Maxico car and got the house vacated. Lalita and her son resided in the rented house for about 5-6 months, during which period the appellant used to visit regularly and sometimes reside there.
26. Dr. L.N. Sahu (PW-21), who medically examined the deceased, deposed that upon enquiring about the burn injuries and their cause, the
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16 CRA-2773-2014 deceased informed him that she had sustained the burns because of her husband. She stated that when she restrained him from consuming liquor, he poured acid or some inflammable substance upon her. He further stated that at the time of recording the dying declaration, he medically examined the deceased and found that she was in a fit and stable mental condition to give her statement.
27. In defence, the appellant examined his wife, Kaushalya, as DW-
1. She stated before the trial court that her husband had not solemnized any second marriage and on the date of the incident, he was present at his house.
28. Yuvraj Pawar, Up-Sarpanch of concerned Gram Panchayat was examined as DW-2. He stated on oath that on the date of the incident, i.e., 14/04/2013, the appellant's vehicle had been hired for transporting persons to attend a programme of the Chief Minister.
29. DW-3 Jaidev Kawde, who is the Secretary of the concerned village, supported the version of DW-2. He also proved documents Exhibits D-1 and D-2, which indicate that the appellant's vehicle had been engaged for transporting passengers to attend the programme of the Chief Minister.
30. A bare perusal of the record clearly demonstrates that the medical evidence, read conjointly with the dying declaration, unequivocally establishes that the deceased succumbed to burn injuries sustained as a result of acid or some other inflammable substance allegedly poured upon her by her husband, Umesh, the present appellant.
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17 CRA-2773-2014
31. During the course of investigation, the police recorded the memorandum statement of the appellant under Section 27 of the Evidence Act. Pursuant to the information furnished by the appellant, the dead body of a six-years'-old child was recovered from a forest area in a highly decomposed condition.
32. Upon an overall consideration of the matter, this Court is of the considered view that the judgments relied upon by learned counsel for the appellant, and the principles of law enunciated by the Hon'ble Supreme Court therein, are clearly distinguishable on facts and are not applicable to the present case. Consequently, no benefit can be extended to the accused on the basis of the said authorities. The evidence available on record unequivocally establishes that the appellant committed the offence with premeditation and in furtherance of a deliberate and well-hatched conspiracy.
33. The appellant took the deceased and her son, Naveen, to the place of occurrence. He first poured acid or some other inflammable substance upon the deceased, set her on fire, and thereafter threw her into a ditch. Further, the appellant also took the minor son of the deceased from the spot and committed his murder by strangulation. After strangulating the child, he poured an inflammable substance on the body and set it ablaze. At the instance of the appellant, the dead body of the minor child, Naveen, was subsequently recovered.
34. We do not find any material on record, nor any substantive merit in the submissions advanced by learned counsel for the appellant, warranting
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18 CRA-2773-2014 interference with the impugned judgment. The prosecution properly established its case beyond any reasonable doubt. Thus, instant criminal appeal is devoid of merit and deserves to be dismissed.
Record of the trial court be sent back.
A typed copy of this order be kept in the record of trial court.
Copy of this order be sent to concerned jail authorities for ensuring the remaining jail sentence of appellant.
All pending applications, if any, be disposed of accordingly.
(VIVEK KUMAR SINGH) (AJAY KUMAR NIRANKARI)
JUDGE JUDGE
S /-
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