Gauhati High Court upholds conviction of man based on dying declaration

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: A division bench of the Gauhati High Court upheld the conviction of a man based on the dying declaration of his wife. The man was convicted earlier by the Goalpara Session Judge.

The bench of the High Court comprises Justice Michael Zothankhuma and Justice Parthivjyoti Saikia.

The Goalpara Session Judge sentenced the petitioner, Manish Kumar Das alias Raja, to life imprisonment on the charge of setting his wife, Nibha Das, afire. Nibha Das breathed her last on the way to the GMCH (Gauhati Medical College and Hospital) in April 2011.

In the case of Mehiboobsab Abbasabi Nadaf vs. State of Karnataka in 2007, the Supreme Court held that ‘conviction can indisputably be based on a dying declaration. However, before it can be acted upon, it must be held to have been rendered voluntarily and truthfully. Consistency in the dying declaration is the relevant factor for placing full reliance thereon, the Apex Court said.

The bench of the Gauhati High Court observed that the evidence adduced clearly showed that the appellant had set the deceased on fire and that the deceased had died due to burn injuries she had suffered. On considering the dying declaration and the corroboration of the same by the evidence adduced by prosecution witnesses, we are of the view that the dying declaration was voluntary and truthful, so as to be considered a dying declaration of the deceased. No evidence has been adduced, which is inconsistent with the dying declaration.”

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