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Poonam Bai v. The State of Chhattisgarh

Criminal Appeal · 2019 INSC 598Decided 30 Apr 2019
Criminal Appeal No. 903 of 2018
Justice N.V. Ramana · Justice Mohan M. Shantanagoudar · Justice S. Abdul Nazeer

Background

The appellant, Poonam Bai, was tried for allegedly pouring kerosene on her aunt-by-marriage, Vimla Bai, and setting her on fire, leading to the victim's death from burns. The trial court acquitted her, finding the prosecution's evidence unconvincing, but the Chhattisgarh High Court reversed that acquittal and convicted her under Section 302 IPC (murder), sentencing her to life imprisonment. She appealed to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the prosecution's case rested entirely on a written dying declaration and an alleged oral dying declaration, both of which it found unreliable. The written dying declaration was only a photocopy with no witness signatures, was recorded without any doctor certifying the victim's fitness to speak, and conflicted with evidence that the victim was found unconscious, making it medically implausible that she gave a detailed statement at that time. The oral dying declaration was raised for the first time at trial and was absent from witnesses' earlier police statements, making it an "improved" and untrustworthy version. Since neither declaration was proved beyond reasonable doubt and no other evidence implicated the appellant, the Court restored the trial court's acquittal and ordered her immediate release.

Lesson Learnt

A dying declaration can be the sole basis for a conviction only if it is shown to be trustworthy, voluntary, and free of suspicious circumstances; courts will not uphold a conviction built on a document whose authenticity and timing do not add up.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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