Bombay HC Acquits Man Convicted Of Burning Wife To Death 4 Months After Marriage, Cites Contradictory Dying Declarations

Mumbai, June 6: Fifteen years after a young woman died of severe burn injuries just four months after her marriage, the Bombay High Court has acquitted her husband, holding that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he had set her on fire.

A division bench of Justices M.S. Karnik and S.M. Modak set aside the 2017 conviction of Prasad Kulkarni, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife, Kirti, in Nashik.

Kirti and Kulkarni married on January 20, 2011. On the night of May 12, 2011, she suffered extensive burn injuries at their residence and died four days later.

The prosecution alleged that Kulkarni returned home drunk, quarrelled with his wife, poured kerosene on her and set her ablaze. The defence, however, maintained that the incident was accidental and occurred when her gown caught fire from a burning oil lamp (niranjan).

Court flags inconsistencies

Allowing the appeal, the HC found serious inconsistencies in the evidence, particularly in multiple dying declarations recorded before Kirti's death.

The bench noted that two earlier dying declarations attributed the burns to an accident, while later statements implicated the husband. It observed that the trial court had failed to properly assess both sets of declarations before convicting the accused.

"We find that the trial court has not considered both sets of dying declarations as per the settled principles of law," the court said.

Investigation shortcomings noted

The judges also flagged shortcomings in the investigation, including the non-examination of key witnesses and doubts over the seizure of a kerosene container that was later relied upon by the prosecution.

Significantly, the court observed that the criminal justice system must decide cases on the basis of evidence and not assumptions. "Case is decided on evidence and not on the basis of personal opinion of Judge…" the bench remarked while analysing the prosecution's claim that the burns could not have been accidental.

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The HC further said that the prosecution had failed to place adequate medical evidence on record to establish that the injuries could only have resulted from kerosene being poured on the victim.

Holding that the evidence left serious doubts about the prosecution's version, the court extended the benefit of doubt to Kulkarni and ordered that his conviction be quashed.

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