The Supreme Court overturned the high court and trial court’s conviction of a man in a case of dowry death.
The wife of the accused had died by putting herself on fire after pouring kerosene on herself. In her dying declaration, the deceased wife told the doctor that she set herself on fire after pouring kerosene oil on herself due to some domestic quarrel with her husband and also confirmed that she was fully conscious while making the statement. The trial court and the high court of Chhattisgarh on the basis of the dying declaration and statement of other witnesses convicted the husband of dowry death under section 304-B and 498 A of the IPC and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment of 10 years and 2 years. Aggrieved by the conviction, the appeal was made in the apex court.
The bench consisting of Justice L. Nageswara Rao, Justice Vineet Saran, and Justice S. Ravindra Bhat observed that the dying declaration showed the immediate cause of death of the wife and the reason behind it. The court held that the statement obtained from the dying wife was also satisfactory to be on record since it was recorded by the doctor who was an independent person. The court after the assessment of all the present facts and arguments on record stated that “In the circumstances, the prosecution fell short of making good its case under Sections 304-B and 498-A IPC and the appellant is entitled to benefit of the doubt. We, therefore, allow this appeal, set aside the orders of conviction and sentence and direct that the appellant be set at liberty unless his presence is required in connection with any other offense.” Thus the court allowed the appeal and overturned the high court’s decision.
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