HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad High Court has held that a truthful and reliable dying declaration can be the sole basis for conviction. Even the Supreme Court has affirmed that such a dying declaration can form the basis for conviction even without corroboration.
A division bench of Justice PV Sanjay Kumar and Justice M Seetharama Murti said this while upholding the judgment of the trial court which had imposed life imprisonment upon the appellant/sole accused who was held guilty of committing the murder of a woman with whom he had illicit intimacy.
The case of the prosecution was that the accused, in an inebriated state, demanded money from her (deceased) during late hours on the day of the incident. Upon refusal by her, he poured kerosene and set her on fire, thereby committing an offence punishable under Sec 302 of IPC (punishment for murder). Even the post-mortem examination report stated that she died due to burns and clearly demonstrated that the death was homicidal in nature.
The appellant/accused denied the charge and wanted to be tried. During the trial, the prosecution examined 12 witnesses and marked 11 exhibits including a plastic bottle containing one-fourth litre of kerosene. The prosecution’s charge that the accused murdered the woman was proved by the evidence of her neighbours who saw the accused running away from the hut of the deceased. Further confirmation of the prosecution’s case took the shape of the dying declaration of the deceased recorded by the metropolitan magistrate concerned.
The woman stated in no uncertain terms that the accused had asked her for money and as she refused, he poured ‘gas oil’ upon her and set her on fire. She identified the accused by the name and confirmed that he was not her husband.
On the other hand, the counsel for the appellant contended that the deceased was semi-conscious at the time of recording her dying declaration. Asserting that there was a discrepancy as to when the police received information about the offence and as to when the investigation commenced, and urged the court to grant benefit of doubt to the accused.
After hearing the case, the bench found that the metropolitan magistrate had meticulously followed the procedure prescribed under Rule 33 of the Criminal Rules of Practice and Circular Orders, 1990, while recording the dying declaration. He obtained certification from the doctor present on the mental status and fitness of the woman to give her statement before commencing the recording and again after its conclusion. The magistrate put questions to her to ascertain her capacity to make a statement and also informed her of his identity and the purpose of his visit. Thereafter, he recorded her dying declaration in Telugu verbatim as stated by her, and obtained her right thumb impression. “This dying declaration is therefore utmost trustworthy.
Though corroboration is not even required in the light of this truthful and reliable dying declaration, sufficient evidence is adduced to confirm and support the same in the form of the neighbours’ testimony”, the bench observed.
Referring to SC’s opinion in another case that conviction based on such a dying declaration was unassailable, the bench concluded that the prosecution in the present case proved beyond doubt that it was the accused who set her on fire. The bench dismissed the appeal, saying that the conviction and sentence imposed upon the appellant did not warrant interference on facts or in law.
