- (1.) In this appeal the accused/appellant challenged the Judgement and order of conviction under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentence of imprisonment for life and fine of Rs. 5,000/- with default clause, passed against 2 him in a sessions trial held before the Learned Additional District & Sessions Judge, Fast Tract, First Court, Kalyani, Nadia.
(2.) The prosecution case against the appellant is as follows; Sometime in April 2004, the accused/appellant married deceased Bandana according to Hindu Rites and Customs. However, their married life was not happy as the accused/appellant was very much addicted to alcohol and used to consume liquor everyday and torture her under the influence of liquor. On August 22, 2005 at dead night around 2 a.m. the accused/appellant returned home in a heavily drunken condition and demanded money from his wife and as she refused to give him any money he started quarrel with her and then set her on fire by pouring kerosene oil on her person. The incident took place inside their bedroom. However, Bandana managed to come out from their bedroom, which was bolted from inside and being attracted by her cry the other inmates of the house rushed there and extinguished the fire and removed her to Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Hospital, Kalyani, where she was admitted. In the meantime, her father having received information about such incident met her at the Hospital, when she disclosed everything as to how she was set on fire by the accused/appellant. When her father having come to know all about the incident on August 26, 2005 lodged a FIR to the local police station and on the self-same day her statement was recorded by the attending doctor in presence of a staff nurse, on a requisition made by the police. After recording her statement the 3 deceased put her signature as well as L.T.I. and the same was also signed by the recording doctor as well as the staff nurse as the attesting witness. In her such statement she complained against the accused/appellant for setting her on fire. Thereafter on August 28, 2005 she succumbed to her burn injuries.
(3.) There was no eyewitness to the occurrence and the prosecution rests its case entirely on circumstantial evidence, and her dying declaration recorded by the doctor and the dying declaration made by her to her father and others. During the trial total 12 witnesses were examined, however, defence examined none and it was the case of the defence that Bandana caught fire accidentally while she was boiling milk on a stove.;