Delhi District Court
State vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 1 Of 19 on 19 November, 2011
IN THE COURT OF SH RAJ PAUL SINGH TEJI: ADDL. SESSIONS
JUDGE(FAST TRACK COURT) NORTH-EAST, KARKARDOOMA
COURTS:SHAHDRA:DELHI
Case I.D. No. 02402R0715072007
SC No.24/10
State
Versus
1.Shaqeel S/o Basir
2. Phullo W/o Basir
3. Basir W/o Sh. Haji Yusuf all three R/o U-147, Gali No.2, Ghonda, Delhi.
4. Mulla Meharban, S/o Haji Islam Hussain R/o L-42, Gali No.7, Gautam Vihar, Delhi.
5. Sainuddin, S/o Sh. Haji Islam Hussain R/o L-354, Gali No.4, Gautam Vihar, Delhi.
FIR No. 302/07 P.S. New Usmanpur.
U/s 498-A/304-B/302/34 IPC Date of Institution : 12.12.2007 Date on which order was reserved : 09.11.2011 Date of decision : 19.11.2011 J U D G M E N T
1. Accused persons were sent to face trial for the commission of offence punishable U/s 498-A/304-B/34 IPC by the police of State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 1 of 19 Welcome. The charge as framed by the then Ld. ASJ Sh A.K. Chawla against the accused persons reads as under:
"that you all being the husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law and relatives of deceased Imrana @ Bhuri subjected her to cruelty and harassment after her marriage which was solemnized on 16.05.2005, physically and mentally and thereby committed an offence punishable U/s 498-A/34 IPC and within my jurisdiction.
Secondly, on 07.08.2007 at about 12.00 Noon at H. No. U-147, Gali No. 2, Arvind Nagar, Ghonda, subjected Smt. Imrana @ Bhuri to cruelty and harassment by all of you and was set on fire by pouring kerosene oil and thereby died within seven years of her marriage and thereby committed an offence punishable U/s 304B/34 IPC and within my jurisdiction.
An alternate charge U/s 302 IPC was framed against accused Phullo by the then Ld. ASJ which reads as under:
That on 07.08.2007 at about 12 noon at H. No. U-147, Gali No. 2, Arvind Nagar, Ghonda, you committed murder of Imrana @ Bhuri and thereby committed an offence punishable U/s 302 IPC and within my jurisdiction.
2. Accused persons pleaded not guilty to the aforesaid charge and claimed trial.
3. The case of prosecution in brief is that on 07.08.2007 on receipt of DD No. 18-A IO ASI Nawal Singh went to GTB Hospital and recorded the statement of Imrana @ Bhuri. As mentioned in her statement, she stated that she was married with Shaqeel about 1 year and 9 months ago. It is further mentioned that her parents were giving motorcycle make 'Passion' in her marriage to accused Shaqeel but the parents of accused Shaqeel demanded for 'Pulsar' motorcycle and her parents gave the same. It is further mentioned that after 2-3 months of her marriage, accused Shaqeel left that State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 2 of 19 motorcycle at her parental house and raised the demand of motorcycle make 'Karizma'. Accused Shaqeel was pacified by the localities of the parents of Imrana and he took his motorcycle which was left by him at the house of Imrana. It is further mentioned that thereafter her husband and her family members started demanding Rs. 20,000/- and they also told that they would purchase Karizma motorcycle after selling the pulsar motorcycle. It is further mentioned that she was caused cruelty and harassment for demand of dowry and she was brought to her parental house by her parents. Her parents told her that her husband Shaqeel has told them to give Rs. 50,000/- otherwise he will not come to take her from her parental house. It is further mentioned in the statement that since her parents failed to give the said amount, Shaqeel did not come to take her and her father-in-law Bashir came at her parental house and took her with him to her matrimonial house on 05.08.2011. It is further mentioned that at about 12.00 noon when she was cooking food, her mother-in-law Phullo came and poured kerosene oil on her from her back side and set her on fire with intention to kill her. It is alleged in the statement that her mother-in-law Phullo, Father in law Bashir, Husband Shaqeel, maternal uncle of her husband Mulla Meharban and Senuddin are also responsible of this event. On the basis of her statement a case U/s 498-A/307/34 IPC was registered against the accused persons and investigation of the case was handed over to Inspector Dinesh Kumar who during the investigation recorded the statements of witnesses. During the investigation of the case Imrana died during her treatment in the hospital and hence section 302/304-B were also added in this case. All the accused persons were arrested and the exhibits of this case were sent to FSL for expert opinion. After completion of investigation, charge sheet U/s 498-A/304-B/302/34 IPC was filed against the accused persons before the concerned court of Ld. State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 3 of 19 M.M. Since the offence committed by accused persons was exclusively triable by the court of Sessions, Ld. M.M. committed the case to the court of Ld. District & Sessions Judge. Thereafter, this case was assigned to this court for trial.
4. Prosecution in support of it case has examined as many as 27 witnesses.
5. PW 1 Smt Rahisa , PW2 Muddha PW3 Imran and PW4 Ilyas are the mother, father, brother and relative of deceased Imrana who have not supported the case of prosecution and turned hostile. They were cross examined by Ld. APP, but nothing material could be brought on record.
6. PW 5 Aklim has deposed that on 07.08.2007, at about 11.00/12.00 noon, when he came to Karkhana (factory) No. U-146, Gautam Vihar to meet one Abad i.e the owner of the factory, they heard hue & cry and on hearing the noise, they went inside the house which was situated near the said factory. He has further deposed that nobody met them on the ground floor of that house and thereafter they went on the roof, but none met them there as well and they noticed that smoke was coming out from the latrine situated on the second floor of the said house. He has further deposed that they tried to open the door of the latrine, but it was locked from inside and they had to break the door and they saw that one lady was burning. He has further deposed that they were three persons namely Wasim, Abad and himself and they took out the said lady from the latrine and put a blanket and bedsheet no her to set off the fire. He has further deposed that one lady i.e. mother of Wasim also reached there and thereafter they removed the injured lady to GTB Hospital in a TSR and later on she died in the hospital. He has further deposed that he came to know the name of said lady as Imrana.
7. PW 6 Afaq Hussain who is the principal of Saba Public school State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 4 of 19 where the children of accused Wasir Ahmed used to study also turned hostile and he was cross examined by Ld. APP, but nothing material could be brought on record.
8. PW 7 Sh. A.K. Passi is the Executive Magistrate, Seelampur who has deposed that on 07.08.07, at about 1.00 PM, he received a telephone call from ASI Naval Singh, PS Usmanpur regarding the admission of one girl Imrana @ Bhuri in GTB hospital who had got burn injuries. He has further deposed that on the receipt of said information, he went to GTB Hospital and there he saw the MLC mark X of Imrana wherein doctor had declared the patient fit for statement on the MLC. He has further deposed that thereafter he proceeded to record the statements of Imrana @ Bhuri and after recording her statement, original statement was handed over to ASI Naval Singh and the same is Ex. PW7/1 and directed SHO to take action as per law. He has further submitted that on 08.08.07, he went to mortuary GTB Hospital and filled inquest documents Ex. PW7/2. He has further deposed that he also requested for postmortem vide his request letter Ex. PW7/3 and he also recorded the statements of Mudda and Imrana vide Ex. PW2/2 and PW15/D-2 respectively.
9. PW 9 is Dr. Rishi Prakash who had conducted the postmortem on the body of deceased Imrana and has proved his report vide Ex. PW9/1.
10. PW 10 is ASI Suman Rana who has deposed that on 07.08.2007 at about 1.25 PM, Duty Ct. Sherpal gave information to her on telephone from GTB Hospital that Imrana, W/o Shakil, aged 26 years, R/o 47, Gali No. 2, Arvind Nagar, Ghonda ko ghar par jalne se Akhlam ne dakhil GTB Hospital karaya and she recorded DD No. 18-A in this regard vide Ex. PW10/1. She has further deposed that on the same day, at about 3.20 PM, she received rukka already Ex. PW7/1 brought to her by SHO Inspector Kishan Lal Sharma and on State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 5 of 19 the basis thereof, she got recorded FIR No. 302/07 U/s 498- A/307/34 IPC through computer operator. She has further deposed that after registration of case, computerized copy of FIR and rukka were handed over to Ct. Naresh and investigation was assigned to Addl. SHO Dinesh Sharma. She has further deposed that she also made endorsement Ex. PW10/2 on the rukka and the computerized copy of FIR is Ex. PW10/3. She has further deposed that on the same day, at about 4.15 PM, she received an information on telephone by Duty Ct. Sherpal from GTB Hospital regarding the death of Imrana and she recorded DD No. 25-A in this regard and the copy of DD is Ex. PW10/4.
11. PW 11 is Dr. Ram Milan who has proved the treatment summary prepared by him vide Ex. PW11/1 and has also proved the death certificate of Imrana vide Ex. PW11/2.
12. PW 12 Ct. Sunil is a photographer who took the photographs of the spot and proved the photographs taken by him vide Ex. PW12/1 to PW12/5 and negatives Ex. PW12/6 to PW12/10.
13. PW 13 is E.S. Yadav who has deposed that on 07.08.2007 at about 3.00 PM, he received a call from control room and after receiving the said call, he along with his crime team went to the spot and inspected the same and got the spot photographed through Ct. Sunil. He has further deposed that one burnt matchstick, one matchbox and small pieces of burnt clothes were lying in the toilet and the same were seized by the IO and were taken into possession. He has further deposed that the wall of the toilet was also found black with smoke and one steel glass having smell kerosene and one plastic can having some kerosene oil were seized from the kitchen by the IO and were taken into possession. He has further deposed that he prepared the report Ex. PW13/1. The witness correctly identified the case properties Ex. P-1 to PW5.
14. PW 14 is Beer Singh who was the neighbour of the mother of State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 6 of 19 deceased who also has not supported the case of prosecution and turned hostile. He was cross examined by Ld. APP, but nothing material could be brought on record.
15. PW 15 is SI Naval Singh who has deposed that on 07.08.2007 he was on emergency duty from 8.00 AM to 8.00 PM and at about 1.30 PM he along with Ct. Manvir was present at 3 ½ Pusta, Kartar Nagar, and received information through wireless from duty officer that Imrana, W/o Shakil, aged 26 years, R/o 47, Gali No. 2, Arvind Nagar, Ghonda ko ghar par jalne se Akhlam ne dakhil GTB Hospital karaya and DD No. 18-A was recorded in this regard. He has further deposed that after receiving this information, he along with Ct. Manvir went to GTB Hospital and obtained the MLC of injured Imrana and found that Imrana was in minor operation threatre. He has further deposed that he met injured Imrana and she disclosed that "meri shadi ko do saal huye hain" and thereafter he called Tehsildar Sh. A.K. Pasi. He has further deposed that parents of Imrana met him in the hospital and Sh. A.K. Pasi also reached in the hospital and recorded the statements of Imrana vide Ex. PW7/1 and handed over the same to him. He has further deposed that on receiving the said statements, he along with Ct. Manvir reached the PS and handed over the said statements to SHO who made endorsement on the same and thereafter it was presented before the duty officer. He has further deposed that duty officer registered the case FIR No. 302/2007 and investigation was assigned to Addl. SHO Inspector Dinesh Kumar. He has further deposed that Inspector Dinesh Kumar along wtih Ct. Naresh left the PS for the spot and thereafter he along with Ct. Manvir also left the PS for the spot. He has further deposed that on reaching the spot, he saw one burnt matchstick lying in the toilet seat and one matchbox containing some matchsticks was also lying there, pieces of printed salwar of red, yellow and black colour were lying inside and outside State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 7 of 19 the toilet, one pink coloured bra was lying in front of toilet and one cloth piece of green and black colour was lying outside the toilet. He has further deposed that he also saw one plastic cane having some quantity of kerosene and one steel glass having smell of kerosene was lying in the kitchen and all the above said were seized by the IO. He has further deposed that IO also seized the burnt cloth in a pulanda, matchstick, matchbox containing matchsticks and one burnt matchstick which was put in the said matchbox and the same was sealed in a separate cloth pulanda and plastic cane and steel glass were also sealed in a separate pulanda. He has further deposed that all the three pulandas were sealed with the seal of DS and were taken into possession vide seizure memo Ex. PW15/1. He has further deposed that Ct. Bachchu Singh reached the spot along with DD No. 25-A which is Ex. PW10/4. He has further deposed that thereafter he along with Inspector Dinesh Kumar, Ct. Manvir and Ct. Naresh went to the hospital where parents of Imrana met them and Inspector Dinesh recorded their statements. He has further deposed that thereafter they all left the hospital and search for accused persons and on reaching 3rd Pusta, Usmanpur, secret informer met them who disclosed that accused Shaqeel was present at TSR Stand, Khajuri red light. He has further deposed that thereafter they went to Khajuri red light and arrested accused Shakeel at the instance of secret informer vide arrest memo Ex. PW15/2. He has further deposed that personal search of accused Shaqeel was taken vide Ex. PW15/3 and thereafter accused Shaqeel was sent to GTB Hospital through Ct. Naresh for his medical examination. The witness has correctly identified the case property Ex. P-1 to P5.
16. PW 16 SI Mukesh Jain is the draftman who prepared the scaled site plan & proved the site plan vide Ex PW16/1.
17. PW 17 is Ct. Manbir Singh who has deposed that on 07.08.07, ASI State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 8 of 19 Nawal Singh received a call on wireless that one lady had been admitted in GTB Hospital in burnt condition. He has further deposed that he long with ASI Nawal Singh went to GTB Hospital and ASI Nawal Singh obtained the MLC of Smt. Imrana and they came to know that she was admitted in minor OT and thereafter they went there and ASI Nawal Singh came to know from the parents of the patient that the marriage of the patient was solemnized just two years ago. He has further deposed that ASI Nawal Singh called Executive Magistrate Sh. A.K. Passi in the hospital who recorded the statements of Imrana. He has further deposed that thereafter he along with ASI Nawal Singh came back to the police station and ASI Nawal Singh handed over the statement of Imrana recorded by Executive Magistrate to SHO who got registered the case. He has further deposed that thereafter he along with ASI Nawal Singh went to the spot where Inspector Dinesh Sharma met them. He has further deposed that one salwar of light red and yellow colour, one burnt bra of pink colour and one burnt piece of cloth of green and black colour were lying in front of the toilet and one matchbox containing some matchsticks and one used matchstick was lying in the toilet seat and one plastic can containing some kerosene and one steel glass having smell of kerosene were lying in the kitchen. He has further deposed that plastic can and glass were sealed in pulanda with the seal of BS and matchbox containing matchsticks and one used matchstick were sealed in another pulanda and above said burnt clothes were sealed in third cloth pulanda with the seal of DS and were taken into possession vide seizure memo Ex. Pw15/1. He has further deposed that thereafter he along with ASI Nawal Singh went to GTB Hospital and Inspector Dinesh Sharma also reached there on his own motorcycle. He has further deposed that Inspector Dinesh Sharma recorded the statement of parents of Imrana in the hospital State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 9 of 19 and thereafter they went to the third pusta Usmanpur from GTB Hospital in search of accused persons. He has further deposed that Inspector Dinesh Sharma received a secret information that accused Shakil was sitting at TSR Stand, Khajuri Red Light and thereafter they went to Khajur Red Light and accused Shaqeel was present there and he was arrested vide arrest memo already Ex. PW15/2. He has further deposed that the personal search of accused Shaqeel was taken vide Ex. PW15/3 and thereafter he was sent to GTB Hospital for his medical examination and they came back to the police station and Inspector Dinesh Sharma deposited the case property with MHC(M). He has further deposed that on 08.08.07 he again joined the investigation with IO Inspector Dinesh Sharma and went to GTB Hospital with him. He has further deposed that IO got conducted the postmortem on the body of deceased Imrana and the dead body was handed over to her relatives. He has further deposed that in the mortuary doctor handed over one wooden box, one envelope and one sample seal to him and the same were duly sealed with the seal of AK. He has further deposed that he handed over the above said articles to the IO in the police station and it was taken into possession by him vide seizure memo Ex. PW17/1 and the same was deposited with MHC(M) by him. He has further deposed that on 10.08.07 he along with Inspector Dinesh Sharma and Lady Ct. Punam went to House No. U-147, Gali No. 2, Arvind Nagar where accused Phullo was arrested vide Ex. PW17/2 and her personal search was taken by Lady Ct. Punam. He has further deposed that accused Phullo was interrogated and during the court of interrogation, she made disclosure statement Ex. PW17/3. Witness correctly identified the case property Ex P-1 to P5.
18. PW 18 is Inspector Kishan Lal, the then SHO PS New Usmanpur has deposed that on 28.09.2007 the present case file was handed State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 10 of 19 over to him by MHC(R) as Inspector M.A. Khan i.e. previous IO was transferred. He has further deposed that on 22.10.07 exhibits of this case were sent to CFSL, Gandhi Nagar by Ct. Nand Kishore and he recorded his statement and thereafter he filed the challan. He has further deposed that on 20.12.2007 he had filed the CFSL report Ex. PW18/1.
19. PW 19 (wrongly mentioned as 20) is Ct. Bachchu Singh who has deposed that on 07.08.07 Duty Officer handed over DD No. 25-A to him and directed him to take the same to Arvind Nagar and to hand over the same to IO. He has further deposed that after receiving the above said DD, he went to U-147, Gali No.2, Arvind Nagar and handed over the above said DD to Inspector Dinesh Sharma, Addl. SHO. He has further deposed that after some time, he received a telephonic message from Addl. SHO Inspector Dinesh Sharma to reach at Khajuri Chowk and thereafter he along with Ct. Naresh went to Khajuri Chowk. He has further deposed that on reaching Khajuri Chowk, Inspector Dinesh Sharma handed over accused Shaqeel to them and directed them to get accused Shaqeel medically examined and after getting his medical examination done to put him in the lock up at PS Seelampur. He has further deposed that on the direction of IO, they both took accused Shaqeel to GTB Hospital and his medical examination was got conducted there and thereafter he was sent to lock up of PS Seelampur. He has further deposed that he handed over the MLC of accused Shaqeel to Inspector Dinesh Sharma and his statement was recorded in this regard by IO Inspector Dinesh Sharma.
20. PW 20 (wrongly mentioned as 21) is Lady Ct. Poonam who has deposed that on 10.08.07 he accompanied IO Inspector Dinesh Singh and Ct. Manveer Singh to U-147, Gali No. 2, Arvind Nagar, Delhi. She has further deposed that the door was knocked and it was opened by accused Phullo Devi and IO made inquiry from State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 11 of 19 accused Phullo Devi and she made disclosure statement vide Ex. PW17/3. She has further deposed that accused Phullo Devi was arrested by the IO and she conducted her personal search vide Ex. PW19/1. She has further deposed that the arrest memo of accused Phullo was also prepared by the IO vide Ex. PW17/2.
21. PW 21 (wrongly mentioned as PW 22) is Dr. Yogesh Kumar Mittal has proved the MLC of deceased Imrana vide Ex. PW22/A.
22. PW 22 (wrongly mentioned as PW23) is Inspector M.A. Khan has deposed that on 10.09.2007 the investigation of this case was marked to him and during his investigation on 12.09.07 he went to Loni and recorded the statements of some witnesses. He has further deposed that thereafter he was transferred from PS New Usmanpur and he handed over the file to MHC(R).
23. PW 23 (Wrongly mentioned as PW24) is Mohd. Mazhar who had conducted the marriage of accused Shaqeel and deceased Imrana. He has proved the Nikahnama vide Ex. PW24/A.
24. PW 24 (wrongly mentioned as PW 25) is Inspector Dinesh Sharma who has deposed that on 07.08.2007 duty officer Suman Rana handed over the copy of FIR and original rukka to him for further investigation and thereafter he along with Ct. Naresh reached the place of incident. He has further deposed that injured was not present at the spot and he came to know that injured was already taken to GTB Hospital and meanwhile the crime team officials reached at the spot and handed over DD No. 25/A already Ex. PW10/4 to him regarding the death of deceased Imrana @ Bhuri i.e wife of accused Shaqeel. He has further deposed that he prepared the site plan Ex. PW15/B1 on his observation and ASI Naval along with Ct. Manveer also reached there. He has further deposed that he sealed one Salwar in burnt condition have prints in light red, yellow and black colour, one bra of pink colour and burnt cloth from the spot and kept the same in a cloth pulanda and sealed the same State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 12 of 19 with the seal of DS. He has further deposed that he also sealed one matchbox make Ship having one burnt matchstick with other unburnt matchsticks and kept the same in a cloth pulanda and sealed the same with the seal of DS. He has further deposed that he also sealed one plastic cane containing some kerosene oil and one steel glass having smell of kerosene from the spot and same were kept in a cloth pulanda and were sealed with the seal of DS. He has further deposed that he seized the above said pulandas vide Ex. PW15/1. He has further deposed that Crime Team Officials handed over their report Ex. PW13/1 to him and thereafter he along with ASI Naval, Ct. Manveer, Ct. Naresh went to GTB Hospital where parents of deceased met him and he recorded the statements of Mahmood @ Mudda & Smt. Rahisa. He has further deposed that the dead body was already removed to mortuary of GTB Hospital and thereafter he reached at 3 rd Pusta, Usmanpur where he received a secret information that accused Shaqeel was present at Khajuri Red Light. He has further deposed that he immediately formed a raiding party with ASI Naval, Ct. Manveer and Ct. Naresh and went to red light Khajuri Khas and on the way, he asked the passersby to join the raiding party, but none agreed and left the place without disclosing their names on the pretext of one or the other. He has further deposed that they reached at the red light of Khajuri Khas and at the instance of a secret informer, they arrested accused Shaqeel vide Ex. PW15/2 and his personal search was taken vide Ex. PW15/3. He has further deposed that thereafter they returned back to police station and accused Shaqeel was sent for medical examination to GTB Hospital along with Ct. Naresh. He has further deposed that he deposited the case property in the malkhana of PS New Usmanpur and recorded the statements of witnesses. He has further deposed that on 08.08.07, he went to GTB Hospital along with Ct. Manveer and about 10.00 State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 13 of 19 AM Tehsildar Mr. A.K. Passi met him there and relatives of deceased were also present there. He has further deposed that on the instructions of Tehsildar Mr. A.K. Passi, the postmortem of the deceased was conducted at GTB Hospital Mortuary and Mr. A.K. Passi filled the inquest papers and also recorded the statements of witnesses in respect of the identification of deceased Imrana. He has further deposed that Mr. A.K. Passi also requested for postmortem of deceased and after the postmortem, the dead body was handed over to the relatives of the deceased. He has further deposed that thereafter he returned back to the police station and Ct. Manveer met him there and handed over one wooden box containing viscera of deceased in a sealed condition with the seal of A.K. Passi and sample seal. He has further deposed that he also handed over one envelope containing scalp hair of deceased Imrana in sealed condition with the seal of AK and the same were seized by him vide Ex. PW17/1. He has further deposed that he deposited the case property in malkhana of PS New Usmanpur and also recorded the statements of witnesses. He has further deposed that Mudda & his son came at the police station and handed over one marriage card Ex. PW25/A of deceased Imrana with Shaqeel and same were seized by him vide Ex. PW2/1. He has further deposed that he recorded the statements of witnesses and on 10.08.07, he received a secret information at PS that accused Fullo was present at her residence and he along with Ct. Manveer & lady Ct. Poonam formed a raiding party and went to the residence of accused Fullo. He has further deposed that on the way, he asked the passersby to join the raiding party, but none agreed and left without disclosing their names on the one pretext or the other. He has further deposed that they reached at the residence of accused Fullo and arrested her vide Ex. PW17/2 and her personal search was taken vide Ex. PW25/B and she was interrogated and her State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 14 of 19 disclosure statement was recorded vide Ex. PW17/3. He has further deposed that on 17.08.2007, he along with draftsman SI Mukesh Jain went to the spot and took rough notes and measurements of the spot for scaled site plan on his directions and he also recorded his statements. He has further deposed that he collected the postmortem report of deceased Imrana and on 25.08.2007 he formally arrested accused Saniuddin & Mulla Meharban vide Ex. PW25/C and PW25/D respectively. He has further deposed that he also took their formal search vide Ex. PW25/E & PW25/F. He has further deposed that on 29.08.2007, he formally arrested accused Bashir Ahmed vide Ex. PW25/G respectively and thereafter on the directions of SHO, he handed over the case file to MHC(R) for further investigation and further investigation was carried by another officer. The witness correctly identified the accused persons and the case property Ex. P1 to P5.
25. PW 26 is Ct. Nand Kishore who took the exhibits of this case to CFSL, Kolkatta from Malkhana, PS New Usmanpur vide RC No. 128/21 and deposited the same to CFSL Kolkatta He has further deposed that so long as the exhibits remained in his custody, it was not tampered with.
26. PW 27 HC Satish Kumar is the MHC(M) PS New Usmanpur has deposed that on 07.08.07 Inspector Dinesh Sharma deposited three pulandas in sealed condition with the seal of DS in the malkhana in PS New Usmanpur in case FIR No. 302/07 vide Sr. 1404 of register No. 19 vide Ex. PW27/A. He has further deposed that on 08.08.07 Inspector Dinesh again deposited a wooden box and one envelope in sealed condition with the seal of AK with same seal in the above said case FIR in the malkhana and the same were deposited vide Sr. No. 1411, register No. 19 vide Ex. PW27/B. He has further deposed that on 21.10.07 Ct. Nand Kishore took the exhibits of this case to CFSL, Gandhi Nagar vide RC No. 128/21 Ex. PW27/C and State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 15 of 19 deposited the same there vide Ex. PW27/A. He has further deposed that on 25.10.07 Ct. Praveen took the viscera to FSL Rohini vide RC No. 141/21 vide Ex. PW27/B.
27. Thereafter statement of accused persons were recorded U/s 313 Cr.P.C. wherein they have denied the allegations against them and stated that they are innocent and have been falsely implicated in the present case.
28. I have heard arguments of Sh Sukhbeer Singh, Ld. APP for the State as well as Sh R.K. Kochar, Adv. for accused persons and carefully gone through the material available on record.
29. Ld. counsel for accused persons has vehemently argued that accused persons never demanded any dowry from the deceased or her parents at any point of time and that there was no such complaint prior to the death of Imrana @ Bhuri. Ld. Counsel for accused persons has further submitted that parents of deceased i.e. PW 1 Smt. Rahisa & PW 2 Sh Muddha have specifically deposed in their testimonies on oath that their daughter Imrana was living peacefully in her matrimonial house with her in-laws and she was never harassed by her in-laws for demand of dowry. He has further submitted that PW 3 Imran who is brother of deceased as well as other witnesses i.e.PW 4 Ilyas, PW 5 Aklim, PW 6 Afaq Hussain, PW 8 Hussanara and PW 14 Beer Singh have not supported the case of prosecution despite cross-examination by Ld. APP. Ld. Counsel for accused persons has further submitted that deceased had not made any statement before the SDM as she remained unconscious and was not in a position to make statement. Ld. Counsel for accused persons has further submitted that thumb impression of deceased was obtained on blank paper and the said paper was lateron converted into dying declaration statement wherein deceased was not in a position to make the statement. Ld. Counsel for accused persons has further submitted that State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 16 of 19 statement of deceased allegedly recorded by PW 7 A.K. Pashi is a fabricated and false statement. Ld. Counsel for accused persons has further argued that there is nothing on record on prove that deceased was fit to make the statement or not as no such certificate was obtained from the doctor before recording the statement of deceased which create serious doubt in the case of prosecution. Ld. Counsel for accused persons has argued that deceased was mentally disturbed and was also suffering from physical illness due to this reason, she committed suicide.
30. On these grounds, Ld. Counsel for accused persons has submitted that prosecution has failed to prove its case against the accused persons and hence they are liable to be acquitted.
31. On the other hand Ld. APP has submitted that no doubt all the public witnesses including the parents & brother of deceased have not supported the case of prosecution yet there is dying declaration of deceased Imrana recorded by SDM wherein she has specifically alleged that accused persons used to harass her for not bringing the sufficient dowry. Ld. APP has submitted the deceased has stated in her statement that firstly accused persons raised the demand of motor cycle 'Pulsar' and thereafter they started raising the demand of 'Karizma' and further asked her to bring Rs. 50,000/- from her parents. She has further stated in her statement that on the fateful day, she was preparing food on the second floor and in the meantime her mother-in-law Phullo came from behind and poured kerosene upon her and set her on fire. She has further stated in her statement that her mother-in-law Phullo, father-in-law Bashir, husband Shakil, maternal uncle of her husband namely Mullah Meharbaas & Senuddin and sister in-law Sahina have tried to kill her. Ld. APP has submitted that deceased in her statement before the SDM has made specific allegations against the accused persons and hence they are liable to be convicted.
State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 17 of 1932. Admittedly, all the public witnesses including the parents & brother of deceased have not supported the case of prosecution despite cross-examination by Ld. APP. Except the statement of deceased recorded by PW 7 A.K. Pashi, the then SDM, there is nothing on record against the accused persons. Ld. Counsel for accused persons has taken a plea that deceased was not in a position to make the said statement as she remained unconscious in the hospital throughout and that said statement is false and fabricated one.
33. Now the most important point of consideration in this case is that whether victim was in a fit condition of mind to give the statement or not. Merely stating that patient was 'fit' will not serve the purpose. This can best be certified by the doctor who is suppose to know best about the condition of the patient. PW 12 Dr. Ram Milan who examined the victim Imrana has not deposed a single word regarding the fitness of deceased. In his cross-examination by Ld. Counsel for accused, PW 11 has stated that he cannot tell as to whether the patient was in a position to speak after looking into the summary ex. PW 11/1. It is important to mention here that on the MLC of deceased Imrana, there is endorsement to the effect that "patient is conscious and well take and fit for giving the statement"
and time has been mentioned as 2.20 p.m. dt. 7.8.2007 but the said endorsement has not been proved on record. Further PW 7 A.K. Passi, Executive Magistrate who recorded the statement of deceased has stated in his cross-examination that when he reached the hospital at about 2.00 p.m. doctor had already recorded on the MLC that patient is fit to make the statement. These facts create a serious doubt regarding the fitness of deceased. Further PW 1 Smt. Rahisa and PW 2 Muddha have also stated that when they reached the hospital at about 1.15 p.m., their daughter was unconscious and she remained unconscious for State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 18 of 19 almost three hours and thereafter she died. Rather they have stated that she was not in a position to speak and they have admitted it to be correct that their daughter did not make any statement before Tehsildar . Both of them have also admitted it to be correct that police officials had obtained thumb impression of their deceased daughter on some blank papers. Though there is nothing on record to suggest that deceased was fit to make the statement yet I would like to mention here that medical opinion cannot wipe out the direct testimony of the eyewitnesses stating that the deceased was not in fit and conscious state to make the statement. On the other hand the plea taken by accused persons that deceased was mentally disturbed and due to this reason she committed suicide, seems to be plausible.
34. Considering the totality of the circumstances, I am of the view that prosecution has failed to prove its case against the accused persons. Hence, all the accused persons are acquitted of the offence charged with. Their B/B stands cancelled. Sureties are discharged. File be consigned to R/R after making the compliance U/s 437A Cr.P.C. by accused persons.
ANNOUNCED IN OPEN COURT (RAJ PAUL SINGH TEJI)
ON 19.11.2011 ADDL.SESSIONS JUDGE(FTC)
NORTH-EAST:KARKARDOOMA COURTS:
SHAHDRA
State Vs Shaqeel & Ors. Page No. 19 of 19