Dismissed¶21

Des Raj v. State of Pb.

Punjab & Haryana HC26 May 2025CRA-D/515/2004

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Keywords: dying declaration as sole basis of conviction; Section 302 IPC murder; burn injuries; kerosene oil; matrimonial home; FIR No.89 dated 06.06.2001 PS City Phagwara; dying declaration recorded by SDJM Harbhajan Dass after doctor certified fitness; left thumb impression; dowry demand witnesses resiled (mother Kamlesh PW-2, brother Sanjeev PW-3); no eyewitness; safeguards against tutoring; Khushal Rao; Laxman (2002) 6 SCC 710; Panneerselvam (2008) 17 SCC 190; Rajendra AIR 2024 (SC) 2682; life imprisonment and Rs.2000/- fine upheld; appeal dismissed; Punjab & Haryana High Court; CRA-D-515-DB-2004 (O&M); decided 26.05.2025.

What did the court decide?

None; conviction under Section 302 IPC and sentence of rigorous imprisonment for life and fine upheld; appellant directed to be arrested immediately to undergo remaining part of sentence

Des Raj Vs State of Pb. — Murder and Culpable Homicide | Punjab & Haryana HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

None; conviction under Section 302 IPC and sentence of rigorous imprisonment for life and fine upheld; appellant directed to be arrested immediately to undergo remaining part of sentence

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Issue for consideration

Whether the appellant's conviction for murder under Section 302 IPC could be sustained solely on the dying declaration of the deceased Shital, there being no eyewitness and the mother (PW-2 Kamlesh) and brother (PW-3 Sanjeev) of the deceased having resiled from their allegations of dowry harassment and maltreatment +1 more

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Court's answer

Conviction of an accused can be based on the sole dying declaration; there is no rule of law insisting upon some other corroboration once the declaration is found voluntary and trustworthy

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Ratio / Principle

All requisite safeguards and precautions were adhered to before the statement of Shital was recorded — it was recorded by an absolutely independent person, a Judicial Magistrate, after the deceased was declared fit by the doctor, with nothing to show tutoring or compulsion — consequently the statement is absolutely trustworthy and admissible

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Key takeaways

Accepting the dying declaration as correct and trustworthy, wherein the deceased categorically stated that her husband poured kerosene oil on her and set her on fire, and in the absence of any other evidence to the contrary, there is no ground to interfere with the findings of guilt recorded by the trial Court; the findings that the appellant murdered his wife by setting her on fire are upheldratio¶20

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Criminal Appeal (CRA-D-515-DB-2004 O&M) — Dismissed; conviction under Section 302 IPC affirmed. The appellant-husband had been convicted by the Additional Sessions Judge, Kapurthala (judgment dated 23.04.2004) for murdering his about 18-year-old wife Shital by pouring kerosene oil and setting her on fire in the matrimonial home on the night intervening 05/06.06.2001, and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life and fine of Rs.2000/-. With no eyewitness, and with the deceased's mother (PW-2) and brother (PW-3) having resiled from allegations of dowry harassment, the case rested solely on the dying declaration recorded by the SDJM, Phagwara at the hospital after the Medical Officer certified the deceased fit; the Magistrate took her left thumb impression as the right thumb was burnt. Relying on Khushal Rao (AIR 1958 SC 22), Laxman ((2002) 6 SCC 710), Panneerselvam ((2008) 17 SCC 190) and Rajendra (AIR 2024 (SC) 2682), the Division Bench (Gurvinder Singh Gill and Jasjit Singh Bedi, JJ.) found all safeguards adhered to, held the declaration voluntary, untutored and absolutely trustworthy, sufficient without corroboration to sustain conviction, and dismissed the appeal directing immediate arrest of the appellant to undergo the remaining sentence.

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CRA-D-515-DB-2004 (O&M)

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IN THE HI G H COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGA R H

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CRA-D-515-DB-2004 (O&M) Date of Decision: 26.05.2025

Des Raj

……....Appellant

Versus

State of Pu n jab …….Respondent

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CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE GURVINDER SINGH GILL HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE JASJIT SINGH BEDI

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Present: Mr. Prem Singh Bhangu, Adv o cate, for the appellant.

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Mr. Sidharth Attri, AAG, Punj a b.

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GURVINDER SINGH GILL, J.

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Desraj ass a ils judgment dated 23.04.2004 passed by learned Additional Sessions J u dge, Kapurthala, vide which he has been held guilty of having committed offence under Sections 302 I P C and has been sentenced to undergo ri g orous imprisonment for life an d also to pay a fine amounting to Rs.2000 / -.

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The matter arises out of FIR No.89 dated 0 6 .06.2001, under Sections 304B/34 IPC, P olice Station City Phagwara, l o dged at the instance of Shital (deceased) pursuant to her statement rec o rded by a Magistrate in the shape of a ‘dying declaration’. Shital (d e ceased), aged about 18 years, died an u n natural death i.e. on account of burn injuries, which she received in her matrimonial home on the ni g ht intervening 05/06.06.2001.

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CRA-D-515-DB-2004 (O&M)

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As per pro s ecution, upon receipt of infor m ation regarding admission of Shital (dec e ased) in Civil Hospital, Phagw a ra with 80% burn injuries, ASI Dalbir Sin g h went to the hospital at abou t 1.00 AM on 06.06.2001 and thereafter m oved an application (Ex.PL) at about 1.30 AM requesting the SDJM, Pha g wara to record the statement o f Shital. Upon being requested, Shri Harb h ajan Dass, SDJM, Phagwara r eached at the Civil Hospital, Phagwara w here he sought opinion of t h e doctor concerned regarding fitness of Shital to make statement. P u rsuant to the doctor having declared S h ital fit to make a statement at a b out 2.40 AM, Shri Harbhajan Dass, SDJ M , Phagwara recorded the state m ent of Shital. The translated version of S hital’s statement (Ex.PQ), is re p roduced herein under:

¶19

QN o.1.	:	How did you catch fire ?
An swer	:	It was 12.30 at night. kerosene oil on me and My husband Des Raj poured set me on fire.
QN o.2	:	Why were you set onf ire?
An swer	:	My husband was drun lady as wife. My hus with her. He used to te a wife and will divorce k. He was maintaining another band was having illicit relations ll me that he will not treat me as me.
QN o.3	:	Are you making this st atement under pressure?
An swer	:	No, I am not mak pressure. I am making ing statement under anyone’s statement out of my own wish.
QN o.4	:	Do you want to say any thing else?
An swer	:	My father-in-law used My father is not alive maternal (Nanka) fami to tell me to bring more dowry. . My son is residing with his ly. Des Raj should be punished.

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Pursuant to recording of statement of Shit a l, FIR was lodged for offences

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under Sections 304-B/34 IPC against Des R aj (husband) and Tarsem Lal (father-in-l a w). However, Shital could not survive and succumbed to her

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CRA-D-515-DB-2004 (O&M)

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injuries on s ame day i.e. 06.06.2001. ASI D albir Singh conducted inquest proceeding s . The dead body was subjecte d to post-mortem examination. ASI Dalbir Singh visited the place of occu r rence i.e. matrimonial home of the deceased, from where some burnt pieces of clothes, a match box and a plastic can were taken into possession. A rough site plan of the place of occurrence was prepared. Statements of t h e witnesses were recorded in terms of S e ction 161 Cr.P.C. Accused D es Raj and Tarsem Lal were arrested on 08.06.2001 and 10.07.2001 res p ectively.

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Upon conc l usion of investigation, challan w as presented against accused Des Raj a n d Tarsem Lal on 04.09.2001 i n the Court of Sub Divisional Judicial M a gistrate, Phagwara, who com m itted the case to the Court of Sessions v i de order dated 18.09.2001. Learned Additional Sessions Judge, Ka p urthala, framed charges agains t both the accused for offence punishable under Section 302 IPC in the alternative under Section 304-B, 498-A IPC read with Section 34 IPC on 05 . 10.2001 to which they pleaded not guilty a n d claimed trial.

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Subsequen t ly, upon an application under S ection 319 Cr.P.C. moved by prosecutio n , accused Pushpa, mother-in- l aw of Shital (deceased) was ordered to b e summoned to face trial. Up o n securing her presence, fresh charges were framed against all the accus e d on 03.02.2003 for offences under Secti o n 302/304-B/498-A IPC.

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The prosec u tion in order to establish its c ase examined as many as 11 PWs. The gist of their testimonies is b e ing briefly referred to herein under:-

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PW-1 HC Makhan Singh stated that on 06.06.2001, he was entrusted wit h special reports of the case, w h ich he delivered to the Illaqa Ma g istrate as well as to senior poli c e officers.

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PW-2 Ka m lesh, mother of Shital (deceas e d), in her examination-in-chief rec o rded on 29.01.2002 stated t h at her daughter Shital was ma r ried to Des Raj on 22.11.1997, however, Des Raj, Tarsem Lal an d Pushpa used to harass her da u ghter for having brought less do w ry and demanded a scooter fr o m her daughter for which she ha d paid an amount of Rs.20,000/ - to Des Raj and although Des Raj promised to return the said amount in installments, but he ne v er returned the same. She stat e d that all the accused used to har a ss Shital to press upon the d e mands of more dowry. She fur t her stated that on the day of o c currence, Des Raj had made a tel e phonic call to her and she has r e quested Des Raj to enable her to t alk to Shital, but she was told that Shital had been taken to Ci v il Hospital, Phagwara and whe n she made a telephonic call to Ci v il Hospital, Phagwara to enqu i re about the condition of her da u ghter Shital, the official at Civi l Hospital informed her that the co n dition of Shital was serious an d thereafter she alongwith her so n Sanjeev and other persons proceeded to Civil Hospital, Ph a gwara and met her daughter, w ho disclosed that Des Raj had co n sumed liquor at about 9.00 P M and had come home in an ine b riated condition and when she ( Shital) asked him as to why he ha d come so late, Des Raj started b e ating her and poured kerosene oil o n her and set her on fire.

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W h ile the aforesaid examination-i n -chief of PW-2 Kamlesh was rec o rded on 29.01.2002, the cros s -examination was deferred as the prosecution wanted to move an application under Section 319 Cr. P .C. However, upon acceptan c e of the aforesaid application an d summoning of additional acc u sed Pushpa, mother-in-law of Shi t al (deceased), when PW-2 K amlesh was called upon to de p ose in Court again on 15.0 4 .2003, she resiled from her

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sta t ement and stated that her daug h ter Shital was not harassed or ma l treated by the accused nor did t hey ever raise any demand of do w ry.

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PW-3 Sa n jeev, brother of Shital (dec e ased), also resiled from his sta t ement and stated that his sist e r was not maltreated by the acc u sed and that they had never d emanded any dowry from her sist e r.

¶40

PW-4 Ha r jit Kaur, Peon in the Civil Hos p ital, Phagwara, stated that her ho u se is situated in front of the h ouse of the accused and that dur i ng night at about 12.00 PM, she heard a noise commotion fro m the house of Des Raj and fo u nd that Shital was on fire and tha t she alongwith others exting u ished the fire and thereafter Shi t al was taken to Civil Hospital, P hagwara.

¶41

PW-5 Dr. Rajiv Aggarwal stated that on 06.06.2001, he was posted as Me d ical Officer, Civil Hospital, Ph a gwara and had medico legally ex a mined Shital, who was having s uperficial burns over the face, chest, arms, abdomen, legs, feet an d genitalia area. He stated that her vitals were within normal l imits and that he had sent inf o rmation to the police pursuant to which police had come to the spot. He further stated that t h e Judicial Magistrate had also co m e at the Civil Hospital and re c orded the statement of Shital. He stated that he had furnished h is opinion (Ex.PB) declaring Shi t al fit to make statement. He f urther stated that he remained pre s ent by the side of the injured t h roughout the recording of her sta t ement. He further stated th a t the injured remained fit thr o ughout the course of record i ng of her statement by the Ma g istrate.

¶42

PW-6 Dr. Ajit Singh, Medical Officer, C ivil Hospital, Phagwara, who ha d conducted post-mortem exa m ination on the dead body of Shi t al on 06.06.2001 at about 2 . 30 PM, proved post-mortem rep o rt as Ex.PO. He opined that t he cause of death in this case

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CRA-D-515-DB-2004 (O&M)

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wa s on account of severe pain and marked loss of fluid from the bur n t areas leading to shock an d that the burn injuries were suf f icient to cause death in ordinar y course of nature.

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PW-7 Na r esh Kumar Lehri stated that his wife is working as Staff Nurse in C ivil Hospital, Phagwara and t hat they were residing in the off i cial quarter and that on the da y of occurrence i.e. 06.06.2001 at a bout 12.30 mid-night, they noti c ed fire in Quarter No.9-D and wh e n they rushed to the said quar t er, they found that Shital was on fire and that they immediatel y removed Shital to the Civil Ho s pital, Phagwara.

¶48

PW-8 AS I Dalbir Singh, who is the Inve s tigating Officer in the present cas e , stated that on 06.06.2001, up o n receipt of an intimation from the hospital authorities regarding a dmission of Shital with burn inj u ries, he went to the Civil Hos p ital, Phagwara and thereafter co n tacted the Magistrate for the pu r pose of recording statement of Shi t al and that pursuant to his r equest, Shri Harbhajan Dass, SD J M, Phagwara came to the hos p ital and sought opinion of the Do c tor as regards fitness of Shital to make a statement and upon fit n ess having been opined by th e Doctor, he (Shri Harbhajan Da s s) recorded the statement (Ex. P M) of Shital on the basis of wh i ch formal FIR (Ex.PM/2) was r e corded. He further stated that Shi t al, however, could not surviv e and thereafter he conducted inq u est proceedings and also visit e d the place of occurrence and co n ducted investigation in the matt e r.

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PW-9 Sh r i Harbhajan Dass, Addl. CJ M , Chandigarh, stated that on 06. 0 6.2001, he was posted as SD J M, Phagwara and on the said da y , ASI Dalbir Singh moved an a pplication (Ex.PL) requesting hi m to record the statement of S hital and pursuant thereto he acc o mpanied ASI Dalbir Singh to the Civil Hospital, Phagwara an d ascertained about the fitness o f Shital to make a statement and

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the Doctor having declared Shit a l fit to make statement, he rec o rded the statement (Ex.PQ) of S hital.

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PW-10 AS I Vijay Kumar stated that he h a d partly investigated the case dur i ng the course of which he ha s arrested accused Tarsem Lal an d also Pushpa, who had earlie r been declared a proclaimed off e nder.

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PW-11 AS I Massa Singh stated that on 28.08.2001, he was posted as ASI at P olice Station City Phagwara a n d had partly investigated the cas e . He stated that during the c o urse of investigation, he had tak e n into possession marriage ca r d and some other documents an d had recorded the statements o f Dr. Rajiv Aggarwal and other wit n esses under Section 161 Cr.P. C .

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Upon clos u re of the prosecution evidence , statements of all the accused were recor d ed in terms of Section 313 Cr.P.C., wherein they pleaded false implication. Accused Des Raj, however, st a ted that he was having cordial relations w i th his wife and had never raise d any demand of dowry and had never harassed her and that on the day of o ccurrence, he was away to the house of S h am Lal Gandhi in Mohalla Satn a mpura to attend a Jagrata and that it was i n his absence that the decease d caught fire, who was taken to hospital b y Naresh Kumar Lehri and Harjit Kaur and that when he reached the Civil Hospital, his parents wer e already there and that though he and his p arents arranged for the medici n es for his wife, but she could not survive .

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The accus e d in their defence examined D W-1 Rajinder Parshad, who stated that he was working in the Civil Hospital, Phagwara and was residing in quarter in Civil Hospital, Ph a gwara and that on the night intervening 05/06.06.2001, when he was o n emergency duty, he heard a VIMAL KUMAR 2025.05.26 16:47 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document

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noise com m otion and came to know that S hital had been taken to Civil Hospital, P hagwara on account of burn i n juries. He stated that while accused Ta r sem Lal and Pushpa Rani, fath e r-in-law and mother-in-law of Shital (deceased) respectively, were resi d ing in old Civil Hospital at Phagwara, a ccused Des Raj alongwith his w ife Shital was residing in the quarter in C ivil Hospital, Phagwara and t hat the distance between new Civil Hosp i tal and old Civil Hospital wa s about 3-4 Kms. He further stated that h e alongwith Anil Masih and S o m Nath went to bring Tarsem Lal and Pu s hpa Rani from their residence and that the mother and father of Des Raj c ame alongwith them to the Civ i l Hospital, Phagwara.

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The learne d trial Court, upon appreciatin g the evidence on record, held that while p rosecution has failed to establ i sh the charges against Tarsem Lal and Pu s hpa, but had established charg e s against accused Des Raj and consequent l y, while holding him guilty o f having committed offence under Sect i on 302 IPC, sentenced him to u ndergo imprisonment for life vide impug n ed judgment.

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Learned c o unsel for the appellant, w h ile assailing the impugned judgment, s ubmitted that he has falsely b een implicated in the present case and as a matter of fact, PW-2 Kamles h (mother of deceased - Shital) and PW-3 Sanjeev (brother of deceased - Shital) had both categorically stated that t he accused never harassed the deceased and had never raised any deman d of dowry. Learned counsel s ubmitted that there is no eyewitness to the occurrence and PW-2 Kamlesh (mother of deceased - Shital) an d PW-3 Sanjeev (brother o f deceased - Shital) having

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categorical l y stated that the accused had n ever maltreated the deceased, the finding s of guilt as recorded by the tri a l Court could not sustain and are liable t o be set aside.

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Opposing t he appeal, learned State coun s el submitted that it is a case wherein sh o rtly before her death, Shital ( deceased) had made a ‘dying declaration ’ , which was recorded by a Ju d icial Magistrate, wherein she stated in u n ambiguous terms that she had b een set on fire by her husband Des Raj, w h o had poured kerosene oil on h er and then lit her and as such, the compli c ity of accused Des Raj is cl e arly evident. Learned State counsel, th u s, prayed for dismissal of the a p peal.

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We have c o nsidered the rival submissions a ddressed before this Court and with the as s istance of learned counsel hav e also perused the record of the case.

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It is a case of an unnatural death of a girl, aged about 18 years, who died on account of burn injuries which she sust a ined in her matrimonial home. The case o f prosecution mainly rests on t h e ‘dying declaration’ of Shital (deceased) herself. While it is correct tha t there is no eye-witness to the occurrence and PW-2 Kamlesh (mother o f deceased - Shital) and PW-3 Sanjeev ( b rother of deceased - Shital ) , who had initially leveled allegations against the accused regardi n g maltreatment of deceased, resiled fro m their statements when they st e pped into the witness-box and categorical l y stated that the accused had n ever harassed Shital and had never dem a nded any dowry, but it is a c a se where the deceased shortly before her d eath made a ‘dying declaration’.

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The law r egarding admissibility, reliab i lity and value of a ‘dying declaration ’ is well settled to the effect th a t once such statement is found to have be e n made voluntarily and is not an attempt by the deceased to falsely im p licate a person, then such ‘dy i ng declaration’ can safely be relied upon and it can form the basis of co n viction. However, the Court has to scru t inize the ‘dying declaration’ ca r efully and must ensure that the declaration is not the result of tutoring, p rompting or imagination. The deceased m ust be in a fit state of mind to m ake the declaration and must identify the assailants. In Khushal Rao vs. State of Bombay, AIR 1958 SC 22 , Hon’bl e Supreme Court after examinin g the relevant provisions of the Evidence A ct and various judicial pronou n cements inter-alia held that it cannot be l a id down as an absolute rule o f law that a ‘dying declaration’ cannot for m the sole basis of convicti o n unless it is corroborated. Reiterating the ratio of Khushal Rao’s cas e (supra), a Five Judges Bench of the Ho n 'ble Apex Court in a case re p orted as (2002) 6 SCC 710 Laxman vs. State of Maharashtra , whil e stating the broad principles regarding a c ceptability of dying declaratio n held as follows:

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" T he jursitic theory regarding acce p tability of a dying declaration is t h at such declaration is made in e x tremity, when the party is at the p o int of death and when every h o pe of this world is gone, when e v ery motive to falsehood is silenc e d, and the man is induced by the m ost powerful consideration to speak only the truth. N otwithstanding the same, great caution must be exercised in c o nsidering the weight to be give n to this species of evidence on a c count of the existence of many circumstances which may effect t h eir truth. The situation in which a man is on death bed is so solemn a n d serene, is the reason in la w to accept the veracity of his s t atement. It is for this reason the requirements of oath and cross-

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e x amination are dispensed with. Si n ce the accused has no power of c r oss-examination, the court insist t hat the dying declaration should b e of such a nature as to inspire f u ll confidence of the court in its t r uthfulness and correctness. The co u rt, however, has to always be on g u ard to see that the statement of t h e deceased was not as a result of e i ther tutoring or prompting or a p r oduct of imagination. The court a l so must further decide that the d e ceased was in a fit state of mind a n d had the opportunity to observe a nd identify the assailant."

¶79

The Hon'b l e Apex Court in a case rep o rted as (2008) 17 SCC 190 Panneersel v am vs. State of Tamil Nad u , while referring to various judgments on the issue of dying declarat i on, enumerated the principles governing d ying declaration as under :-

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(i) There is neither rule of law nor of prudence that dying declaration c a nnot be acted upon without corro b oration.

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(ii) I f the Court is satisfied that the dying declaration is true and v o luntary it can base conviction on i t, without corroboration.

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(iii) The Court has to scrutinise the dyi n g declaration carefully and must e n sure that the declaration is not th e result of tutoring, prompting or i m agination. The deceased had a n opportunity to observe and i d entify the assailants and was in a f it state to make the declaration.

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(iv) W here the dying declaration is su s picious, it should not be acted u p on without corroborative evidenc e .

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(v) W here the deceased was unconscious and could never make any d y ing declaration, the evidence wit h regard to it is to be rejected.

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(vi) A dying declaration which suffers from infirmity cannot form the b a sis of conviction.

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(vii) M erely because a dying declaration does contain the details as to the o c currence, it is not to be rejected.

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(viii) E qually, merely because it is a b rief statement, it is not to be d i scarded. On the contrary, the s h ortness of the statement itself g u arantees truth.

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(ix) N ormally the Court in order to satis f y whether the deceased was in a fit mental condition to make the d y ing declaration looks up to the

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m edical opinion. But where the ey e -witness said that the deceased w as in a fit and conscious state to make the dying declaration, the m edical opinion cannot prevail.

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(x) W here the prosecution version dif fe rs from the version as given in t h e dying declaration, the said decla r ation cannot be acted upon.

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(xi) W here there is more than one st a tement in the nature of dying d e claration, one first in point of tim e must be preferred. Of course, if t h e plurality of dying declarations could be held to be trustworthy a n d reliable, it has to be accepted.

¶95

While scr u tinizing the manner in which the ‘dying declaration’ was recorded i n the light of ratio laid down in above referred judgments, we find that i m mediately upon receipt of infor m ation by the police regarding admission o f Shital in the Civil Hospital, Phagwara with burn injuries, ASI Dalbi r Singh reached at the Civil H ospital and thereafter made a request to the SDJM, Phagwara, who reached the Civil Hospital, Phagwara a nd after ascertaining about the fitness of Shital recorded her statement. The prosecution has examined P W-5 Dr. Rajiv Aggarwal, who had medic o legally examined Shital whe n she was brought to the Civil Hospital, P hagwara and who had also de c lared Shital fit for making a statement. The relevant extract from his statement recorded on 27.08.2003 is reproduced herein under:

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“Wh e n the police came, I asked the po l ice to call the Magistrate. When the M agistrate came, I was asked about the fitness of the injured to make the s t atement. As per Ex.PF, I dec l ared Shital injured fit to make state m ent. I remained present at the s i de of the injured throughout the recor d ing of her statement by the Magistrate. She remained fit throu g hout during her statement. The M agistrate obtained her left thumb impr e ssion on her statement as her rig h t thumb had been burnt. On the concl u sion of her statement, I gave t h e opinion Ex.PG that she had

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throu g hout remained fit to make the st a tement. Ex.PH is the bed head ticke t in respect of Shital injured. Pati e nt Shital expired on 06.06.2001. The b ed head ticket is partly in my han d .”

¶101

Although P W-5 was cross-examined at le n gth on behalf of the accused, but nothin g substantial could be elicited d uring the course of his crossexaminatio n so as to doubt his statemen t . A perusal of the aforesaid statement i ndicates that not only he ha d given his opinion regarding fitness of Shital before her statement w as recorded by the SDJM, Phagwara, b ut he also remained present du r ing the course of recording of her statem e nt and has also opined that sh e was fit throughout during the course of h e r statement. To a similar effec t is the statement of PW-9 Shri Harbhajan Dass, whose cross-examinati o n also could not shatter his statement in any manner. Although d uring the course of crossexaminatio n , he did state that there were t w o more persons belonging to the family o f the injured, who were presen t , but he clarified that they had been told t o go out before her statemen t was recorded. Under these circumstan c es, we find that all the requis i te safeguards and precautions were adhered to before the statement of S hital was recorded. As such, neither the r e is anything to show that t h ere was any tutoring of the deceased o r that she had been forced t o make the statement. The statement w as recorded by an absolute in d ependent person i.e. a Judicial Magistrate, which was recorded after the deceased was declared to be fit. Consequen t ly, the statement is found to b e absolutely trustworthy and admissible.

¶102

VIMAL KUMAR 2025.05.26 16:47 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document

¶103

CRA-D-515-DB-2004 (O&M)

¶104

( 14 )

¶105

It is well s e ttled that conviction of an acc u sed can even be based on the sole ‘dying declaration’ and that there is n o rule of law that some other corroborati o n should be insisted upon. I n a recent judgment, AIR 2024 (Supreme C ourt) 2682 Rajendra vs. Sta t e of Maharashtra , Hon’ble

¶106

Supreme C o urt, in a case based solely on d y ing declaration held as under:

¶107

“25. The law relating to dying declaration is now well settled. Once a d y ing declaration is found to be aut h entic inspiring confidence of the c o urt, then the same can be relied u pon and can be the sole basis for c o nviction without any corrobora t ion. However, before accepting s u ch a dying declaration, court mus t be satisfied that it was rendered v o luntarily, it is consistent and cre d ible and that it is devoid of any t u toring. Once such a conclusion is reached, a great deal of sanctity i s attached to a dying declaration a n d as said earlier, it can form the s o le basis for conviction.”

¶108

The prese n t case is such where the ‘d y ing declaration’ is crisp and unambiguo u s and has been recorded whi l e ensuring all the safeguards. While acce p ting the said statement to corre c t and trustworthy, we find that the deceas e d before her death stated categ o rically that it was her husband namely De s raj, who had poured kerosene oil on her and had set her on fire. In the absence of any other evidence t o the contrary, we do not find any groun d to interfere with the findings o f guilt as recorded by the trial Court that i t is the appellant, who had mur d ered his wife Shital by setting

¶109

her on fire a nd the same are upheld.

¶110

Finding n o merit in the appeal, the sa m e is hereby dismissed. The appellant b e arrested immediately to under g o remaining part of sentence.

¶111

VIMAL KUMAR 2025.05.26 16:47 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document

¶112

CRA-D-515-DB-2004 (O&M)

¶113

( 15 )

¶114

A copy of t his judgment be sent to the quarters concerned for necessary

¶115

compliance

¶116

(GURVINDER SINGH GILL) JUDGE

¶117

(JASJIT SINGH BEDI) 26.05.2025 JUDGE Vimal

¶118

Whether speaking/reasoned: Yes/No Whether reportable: Yes/No

¶119

VIMAL KUMAR 2025.05.26 16:47 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document

Procedural history

How this case reached the court

AI extract

Order under challenge
Judgment dated 23.04.2004 of the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Kapurthala holding Des Raj guilty under Section 302 IPC and sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment for life and a fine of Rs.2000/-¶1
Additional Sessions Judge, Kapurthala · 23.04.2004
Prior proceeding
FIR No.89 dated 06.06.2001 registered under Sections 304B/34 IPC at Police Station City Phagwara on the basis of the dying declaration of Shital (deceased), who suffered burn injuries in her matrimonial home on the night intervening 05/06.06.2001¶2
Prior proceeding
After ASI Dalbir Singh requested the SDJM, Phagwara, Shri Harbhajan Dass recorded the dying statement of Shital at Civil Hospital, Phagwara at about 2.40 AM after a doctor declared her fit to make a statement¶3
Prior proceeding
Shital succumbed to her injuries on 06.06.2001; ASI Dalbir Singh conducted inquest proceedings and the dead body was subjected to post-mortem examination¶4
Prior proceeding
Accused Des Raj and Tarsem Lal were arrested on 08.06.2001 and 10.07.2001 respectively¶4
Prior proceeding
Challan presented on 04.09.2001 against accused Des Raj and Tarsem Lal in the Court of Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Phagwara¶5
Prior proceeding
Case committed to the Court of Sessions vide order dated 18.09.2001¶5
Prior proceeding
Learned Additional Sessions Judge, Kapurthala framed charges against both accused on 05.10.2001 for offence under Section 302 IPC, in the alternative under Section 304-B, 498-A IPC read with Section 34 IPC; accused pleaded not guilty and claimed trial¶5
Prior proceeding
Upon an application under Section 319 Cr.P.C. by the prosecution, accused Pushpa, mother-in-law of the deceased, was ordered to be summoned to face trial¶6
Prior proceeding
Fresh charges framed against all the accused on 03.02.2003 for offences under Section 302/304-B/498-A IPC¶6
Prior proceeding
Prosecution examined 11 PWs, including the Magistrate who recorded the dying declaration, the doctors, the investigating officers and the witnesses who later resiled¶7
Prior proceeding
Statements of all accused recorded in terms of Section 313 Cr.P.C.; they pleaded false implication¶8
Prior proceeding
Defence examined DW-1 Rajinder Parshad, who worked and resided at Civil Hospital, Phagwara¶9
Prior proceeding
Trial court held that prosecution failed to establish charges against Tarsem Lal and Pushpa but established charges against Des Raj, holding him guilty of offence under Section 302 IPC and sentencing him to imprisonment for life¶10

Des Raj v. State of Pb.

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Des Raj v. State of Pb.

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