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Shankar v. State of Rajasthan

Criminal Appeal · 2026 INSC 315Decided 2 Apr 2026
Crl.A. No.-001735-001735 - 2026
Justice Sanjay Karol · Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh · Justice Augustine George Masih

Background

Shankar was convicted of pouring kerosene on his wife, Sugna Bai, and setting her on fire about 20 days after their marriage, following a dispute after she went to her parents' house. She died from her burn injuries after giving a dying declaration to a Magistrate identifying her husband as the assailant. The Trial Court sentenced him to life imprisonment under Section 302 IPC (plus a separate sentence under Section 342), and the Rajasthan High Court's Division Bench confirmed the conviction on appeal. Shankar then appealed to the Supreme Court, challenging the reliability of the dying declaration and the concurrent findings against him.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that interference with concurrent findings of conviction by two lower courts is permissible only in limited circumstances (manifest legal errors, misappreciation of evidence, or overlooked crucial evidence) none of which were found here. The Court examined the dying declaration recorded by a Magistrate and found it credible, consistent, and corroborated by medical evidence from two doctors confirming the cause of death as septicaemia due to burns. It rejected arguments questioning the declarant's mental fitness and the qualification of one of the medical witnesses. The appeal was dismissed and the conviction upheld. The Court added an extended postscript on the persistence of domestic violence against women in India despite decades of legal and welfare reforms.

Lesson Learnt

A dying declaration, if found credible, consistent, and free of tutoring, can by itself sustain a conviction, and appellate courts will rarely disturb concurrent findings of guilt by the Trial Court and High Court unless there is a clear legal or evidentiary error.

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

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