On Inconsistency Between Multiple Dying Declarations, Statement Recorded By Magistrate Or Higher Official Can Be Relied Upon: Jharkhand HC

The Jharkhand High Court has reiterated the importance of dying declarations in criminal cases, emphasising that if there are inconsistencies between multiple dying declarations, the statement recorded before a Magistrate or higher official holds weightage.

The Division Bench of Justice Ananda Sen and Justice Subhash Chand made this observation while hearing an appeal challenging a verdict of guilt and sentencing by the Additional Sessions Judge-II, Jamshedpur, in a Session Trial.

The case involved two appellants, both convicted for their alleged involvement in a heinous crime. The first appellant, the deceased's brother-in-law, and the second appellant, her sister-in-law, were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life under Section 302/34 IPC.

According to her statement recorded in the morning, she was preparing her children for school while her husband was out for a morning walk. Suddenly, her mother-in-law, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law poured kerosene oil on her and set her on fire, causing burn injuries.

She described her brother-in-law holding her hands, her mother-in-law sprinkling kerosene oil, and her sister-in-law lighting the fire. She screamed for help, and eventually, neighbours arrived along with her husband, who then took her to the Hospital. Sadly, she succumbed to her injuries five days later.

The deceased's statement was recorded twice: once when the First Information Report (F.I.R.) was filed based on her initial complaint, and the second time under Section 164 of the Cr.P.C. Both statements implicated the appellant-brother-in-law, but the appellant-sister-in-law's name was not mentioned in the statement recorded under Section 164 of the Cr.P.C.

Upon examination of the contents of both dying declarations, the Court observed, “Thus from these two statements, we find that there is only one discrepancy in her statement; before the police in the fardbeyan, she had taken the name of her sister-in-law (Nand) who had participated in the occurrence but in the statement recorded under Section 164 Cr. P.C, she has not taken the name of her sister-in-law."

In both statements, the Court noted that the victim stated that she was burnt in the morning, citing the reason for this act as the property being in her husband's name.

Thus from both statements, we conclude that there is one minor deviation, i.e. not naming the sister-in-law in the second dying declaration, the court stated.

The Court further asserted, “In this case, as held earlier, we find that there are two dying declarations, thus it is a case of multiple dying declaration and in case of multiple dying declaration, the Court has to be very cautious and see whether the same is voluntary and reliable and whether there is inconsistency or not.”

"Each dying declaration should be scrutinised on its own merit. Further, as per the judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Abhishek Sharma (Supra), if at all there are discrepancies, the statement recorded by the Magistrate or higher official can be relied on, subject to the indispensable qualities of truthfulness and being free of suspicious," the court added.

Accordingly, the Court relied on the dying declaration recorded by the judicial magistrate under Section 164 of Cr.P.C., upheld the conviction of Appellant-brother-in-law, and acquitted Appellant-Sister-in-law.

Case Title: Amir Mallick and Anr. v. State of Jharkhand and Anr.

LL Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Jha) 92

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