Supreme Court acquits Tamil Nadu man after 16 years of accused of murdering his wife by fire. The life sentence imposed on him. A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah overturned the Madras High Court’s Feb 2012 order that upheld his conviction under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
The case involved allegations that the accused poured kerosene on his wife and set ablaze. It lead to her death after 3 weeks in hospital. Even prosecution relied on her dying declaration to convict him. The Supreme Court ruled that total reliance on it will misplaced and grant the benefit of the doubt to the accused.
Supreme Court acquits Tamil Nadu man
The Supreme Court observed that when the dying declaration falls in doubt or when there are many inconsistent statements. The court seeks corroborative evidence before evaluate which version to believe.
The court observed, “If a dying declaration is surrounded by doubt with inconsistent declarations by the deceased. Then the court looks for corroborative evidence to find which dying declaration is believed. It depends up facts of case and courts required to act properly in these cases. The matter at hand is one such case, observed by court.
In that case, the deceased had changed her stance and made a final statement before the judicial magistrate on September 18, 2008. She blames her husband and raises doubts about the credibility
Court focus on reliability regarding this case
After Supreme Court acquits Tamil Nadu man, they recognize that dying declaration is vital evidence and from only basis of conviction. The court stressed its reliability should be assessed in the context of the entire case. Supreme Court found it unsafe to hold a conviction and decide to acquitted the accused.
Read Also: Sunanda Sharma allegations on producer Pinky Dhaliwal for exploitation and financial fraud