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Prem Kumar Gulati v. State of Haryana

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 1422 of 2009)Decided 23 Sept 2014
Criminal Appeal No. 1422 of 2009
Justice M.Y. Eqbal · Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose

Background

A woman died from burns after alleging that her husband and two relatives had poured kerosene on her and set her alight. Her husband was prosecuted, and his brother and sister-in-law were later added to the trial. The courts below convicted them, but the husband and brother separately appealed, challenging the evidence and the dying declaration.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court upheld the husband Mahender Singh's conviction but acquitted his brother Prem Kumar and ordered his release. The evidence sufficiently established the husband's responsibility, whereas the declaration did not identify any particular act by Prem Kumar and other evidence did not establish his participation. Investigators had found that the brother and his wife lived separately and were not involved. The Court rejected the general objection that a dying declaration becomes unreliable merely because it is not recorded as questions and answers, while still scrutinising what it actually proved against each accused.

Lesson Learnt

A dying declaration must be assessed for reliability and for the particular role it establishes against each accused. Evidence sufficient against one family member does not automatically establish another's guilt.

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

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