M.Karpagavinayagam, J. - (1.) The gist of the accusation is that the appellant-Syed Mustafa caused the death of his wife Megarunnisa by pouring kerosene over her body and set fire to her on 2-10-1997 at about 1 p.m.
(2.) On this allegation, the accused was tried and ultimately convicted for the offence under Section 302 I.P.C. and sentenced to undergo life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.2,000/-. Challenging the same, this appeal has been filed by the appellant/accused.
(3.) The facts in brief are as follows:- (a) Syed Mustafa, the appellant herein married the deceased Megarunnisa 2-1/2 years prior to the date of occurrence. Out of their wedlock, two female children were born. The accused was doing vegetable business. The parents of the deceased gave dowry by means of jewels and cash. Not being satisfied, the accused demanded more amount from the parents of the deceased in order to start his own business. The parents of the deceased were able to give a small amount then and there. However, they were not able to give huge amount as demanded by the accused. Therefore, there was misunderstanding between them. Due to this, the accused frequently used to beat the deceased. When the accused decided to go to Coimbatore to start his own business, the parents of the deceased requested him not to go to Coimbatore and asked both the accused and the deceased to stay in the upstair portion of their house along with the children and do the business there itself. Accordingly, they stayed in the upstair portion of the house . (b) On 2-10-1997 morning, the accused beat the deceased asking her to get Rs.5,000/- from her parents. The deceased told him that her parents would not be able to give the huge amount to him. There was a wordy quarrel. During the wordy quarrel, P.W.1, the mother of the deceased came and intervened and pacified them. (c) Again at 1 p.m., the quarrel between them started. The accused attempted to remove the table fan for selling the same. The deceased prevented the accused from removing the fan for sale. Having got infuriated over this, the accused took the plastic can found near the oven and poured kerosene over the body of the deceased and set fire to her by lighting the matchstick. The deceased caught fire and cried for help. (d) On hearing the cry, P.W.1, the mother of the deceased, P.W.9, the maternal uncle of the deceased and P.W.2, the brother of the deceased, went to upstairs and saw the deceased in flames. The accused was simply standing and keeping quiet for some time. Then, he ran away from the house. P.W.9 and P.W.2 put out the fire by using the gunny bag soaked in water. (e) Thereafter, the victim deceased was taken to hospital in an Auto. While they were proceeding towards the hospital, the deceased told them that the accused poured kerosene over her body and set fire. At about 2.10 p.m., the deceased was admitted in the Trichy Government Hospital. (f) P.W.5 Doctor admitted her and gave initial treatment. The deceased told P.W.5 Doctor that her husband poured kerosene and set fire to her at about 1 p.m. P.W.5 issued Ex.P-1 accident register. Then, he sent intimation to the Police and requisition to the Judicial Magistrate to record the dying declaration of the deceased. (g) P.W.16 Sub-Inspector of Police, on receipt of message, came to the hospital, recorded Ex.P-17 statement of the deceased and registered the same for the offences under Sections 307 and 498-A I.P.C. (h) In the meantime, P.W.14 Judicial Magistrate, on receipt of the requisition, came to the hospital and recorded her dying declaration in the presence of P.W.6 Doctor who certified that she was in a fit state of mind to give the dying declaration. Ex.P-12 is the dying declaration. (i) After registration of the case, P.W.17 Inspector of Police came to the scene and drew Ex.P-19 rough sketch and prepared Ex.P-10 observation mahazar. He recovered M.Os.1 to 9. He continued the investigation and examined the other witnesses. He arranged to send the material objects for chemical examination through the Court. On 6-10-1997, P.W.17 received intimation that the deceased died at 3.30 p.m. on that day. Therefore, the case was altered into one under Sections 302 and 498-A I.P.C. (j) An intimation was sent to P.W.15 Revenue Divisional Officer with regard to the death of the deceased. On receipt of the same, he came and conducted inquest over the body of the deceased. Ex.P-14 is the inquest report. (k) P.W.17 Inspector of Police arrested the accused on 6-10-1997 at about 6.40 p.m. and sent him for judicial remand. Further investigation was taken up by P.W.18 Deputy Superintendent of Police. After completion of the investigation, he filed chargesheet against the accused for the offences under Sections 304-B, 302 and 498-A I.P.C.;