HANUMANTHARAYA @ HANUMANTHAPPA S/O HANUMANTHAPPA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA BY HIRIYUR POLICE REPRESENTED BY SPP
LAWS(KAR)-2018-7-38
HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA
Decided on July 09,2018

Hanumantharaya @ Hanumanthappa S/O Hanumanthappa Appellant
VERSUS
State Of Karnataka By Hiriyur Police Represented By Spp Respondents


Referred Judgements :-

LAXMAN VS. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA [REFERRED TO]


JUDGEMENT

B.A.Patil, J. - (1.)The present appeal has been preferred by the appellant/accused assailing the judgment and order of conviction and sentence passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Chitradurga, in S.C.No.52/2007 dated 6.4.2010.
(2.)The case of the prosecution in brief is that the deceased Lalithamma got married to accused Hanumantharaya and they were having two siblings one male and one female and her son Anjanamurthy was studying in 9th standard and daughter Asha was studying in 7th standard. Herself and her husband were doing coolie work for leading their life. It is the further case of the prosecution that the husband of the deceased addicted to bad habits and he requested her to give some money to start arecanut business, she went to her parental house at Hiriyuru and from her sister's husband Shakunappa she brought Rs.5, 000/- as a loan and handed over the same to her husband appellant/accused to start the said business. Thereafter, accused instead of doing the arecanut business spent the said amount for his bad habits and was also used to abuse the deceased. In that light, on 24.4.2006 at about 4.30 p.m. when the husband of deceased came to the house after consuming the alcohol, at the time her daughter Asha was also present in the house and she asked for her husband as to what he had done with the amount of Rs.5, 000/- and every day you came by consuming the alcohol. Immediately, the appellant/accused abused her and told her that often she is asking about Rs.5, 000/- and immediately thereafter he took up the kerosene can and poured the same and lit the fire, as a result she was ablazed. Immediately by seeing the same her daughter Asha due to fear went out of the house and the fire was caught to her body and she started screaming and went out of the house. By that time the neighbourer Hanumanthappa and others came and with the help of blanket covered the body extinguished the fire and thereafter they sent her in an auto rickshaw to the Government Hospital, Hiriyuru and there she got admitted. She has also further stated in Ex.P13 that the Hiriyur police came and recorded her statement and at that time as her husband may improve in his character, she has stated that she has sustained burn injuries due to stove burst, but as on the date she gave the complaint as per Ex.P13, he did not turned up and take her to the hospital for treatment and she has given the dying declaration before the Tahsildar and at that time she has stated that on 24.4.2006 at about 4.30 p.m. when she was in her house and when she asked about Rs.5, 000/-, at that time her husband poured kerosene and lit the fire. The said complaint was recorded by PW14-Head Constable.
(3.)Earlier she has also given dying declaration as per Ex.P17 on 25.4.2006 and on the basis of the said dying declaration a case was registered in Crime No.197/2006 for the offence punishable under Section 307 of IPC. Subsequently on 5.2006 she succumbed to the burn injuries and as such the case was converted to one under Section 302 of IPC in place of 307 of IPC. On the basis of the said complaint the Investigating Officer investigated the case and filed the charge sheet against the accused for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC. Thereafter, the case was committed to the Sessions Court, after following the formalities under Section 207 of the Cr.P.C. The Sessions Court took the cognizance and after hearing the learned counsel for the accused and the learned public prosecutor the charge was prepared, read over and explained to the accused. Accused denied the said charges and was intending to face the trial as such the Sessions Court fixed the trial.


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