HC relies on deceased's dying declaration, upholds conviction of her husband

A letter written to the Delhi High Court by a woman before her death not only helped her get justice but also led to the recovery of her minor child.

Relying on that letter submitted by the deceased named Rakhi, the Delhi High Court has upheld the trial court's judgement convicting her husband, Vinay Tiwari, for setting her ablaze and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

A Division Bench of Justices Manmohan and Sangeeta Dhingra Sehgal stated, "In view of Section 8 of the Evidence Act, it is relevant to note that the convict after the deceased was injured gave away his minor daughter aged about one and a half year to a man who was living in Jammu and she was recovered only after the deceased disclosed the said fact in her dying declarations."

The court said that her declarations were corroborated by the testimonies of mother and father.

"Even though the family members of the deceased were residing near the hospital where she was admitted, yet they were not informed...the deceased herself had managed to make a telephone call to them."

The court also observed that convict Vinay Tiwari had absconded after the death of the deceased and it was only after proceedings under Section 82 CrPC (to declare him as absconder) were initiated against him that he surrendered.

It was also noted that the conduct of the convict post the gruesome incident further strengthened the case of the prosecution.

After the trial court convicted him, Tiwari challenging it in the High Court last year.

The case of the prosecution is that the appellant-convict and deceased had married each other on April 5, 2006, and thereafter, the appellant-convict had subjected her to cruelty and harassment for dowry.

On October 30, 2008, Rakhi suffered burn injuries at her home in Delhi's Mandawali area and was shifted to the LNJP Hospital, where ASI Ramesh Chand, as well as the Executive Magistrate, recorded her statement on the same day. The deceased, however, made no allegations against the appellant-convict in these statements.

As per the prosecution, on November 19, 2008, Rakhi called her parents using the mobile phone of another patient, who was being treated in the same hospital and informed them about her condition. Thereafter, her parents came to the hospital and she told them that the appellant-convict had poured kerosene on her and set her on fire.

Subsequently, the father of the deceased wrote a letter dated December 16, 2008, to the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) to record the statement of his daughter and contended that the first statement was recorded under threat.

Another letter dated December 26, 2008, was addressed to the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court by the deceased herself, in which she stated that her husband had set her on fire after pouring kerosene and that she was also harassed by her in-laws on account of dowry. Almost a month later, she succumbed to her injuries.