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Purshottam Chopra & Anr. v. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi)

Criminal Appeal · 2020 INSC 5Decided 7 Jan 2020
Criminal Appeal Nos. 194-195 of 2012
Justice A.M. Khanwilkar · Justice Dinesh Maheshwari

Background

The appellants were accused of pouring kerosene on a man and setting him on fire in 1997; he died from his burn injuries. There were no eyewitnesses to the act itself, but before dying, the victim named the appellants as his attackers in two separate statements: one to a doctor while being admitted for treatment, and another to a police officer. Both the trial court and the High Court relied on these statements as dying declarations to convict the appellants of murder.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court closely examined whether the victim was mentally fit and conscious when he made each statement, finding that the medical evidence confirmed he was alert and oriented at the time, and that his account was consistent across both statements. The Court rejected the appellants' arguments to discredit the dying declarations or to reduce the offence to a lesser one, holding that the deliberate act of dousing someone in kerosene and igniting them showed a clear intention to kill. It upheld the murder conviction and dismissed the appeals.

Lesson Learnt

A dying declaration, a victim's own account of who attacked them, given before death, can be strong enough evidence to convict for murder on its own, even without any eyewitness, provided courts are satisfied the victim was conscious, coherent, and consistent when making it.

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

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