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Supreme Court of India

PADMABEN SHAMALBHAI PATELversusSTATE OF GUJARAT

Citation
1991 INSC 9
Decided
18 January 1991
Disposal
Dismissed

Holding

A dying declaration, even if not recorded in question‑answer form and made by a severely burned victim, is admissible and can constitute the sole basis for conviction if the maker was in a fit state of mind, voluntarily identified the accused, and the statement is found reliable.

Summary

The victim, Gangaben, suffered 90% burns after kerosene was poured on her and, while being treated, made dying declarations to two doctors naming Padma Patel, her husband's sister, as her tormentor. The Sessions Court acquitted Patel, doubting the victim's mental fitness and the possibility of tutoring, but the Gujarat High Court reversed the acquittal and sentenced her to life imprisonment. On appeal, the Supreme Court examined whether such dying declarations, recorded by medical staff and not in a formal question‑answer format, were admissible and could alone support a conviction. The Court held that a dying declaration is admissible under Section 32 of the Evidence Act if the maker was in a fit state of mind, voluntarily identified the accused, and the statement is reliable, even without corroboration. It found the victim fit to speak, the statements reliable, and dismissed the appeal, upholding the conviction.

Issues considered

  • Whether a dying declaration recorded by medical personnel, not in question‑answer form, is admissible under Section 32 of the Evidence Act.
  • Whether the victim, despite severe burns, was in a fit state of mind to make a reliable dying declaration.
  • Whether a dying declaration can form the sole basis for conviction without independent corroboration.
  • Whether the possibility of tutoring or influence by the husband or others can be ruled out.
  • Whether the prosecution evidence satisfies the reliability requirement for a dying declaration.

Legislation cited

Subjects

dying declarationIndian Evidence Act Section 32admissibilityreliabilitymedical testimonyburnshomicidemurderSection 302 IPCcross‑examinationquestion‑answer formcorroborationmental fitnesstutoring

Judgment

                                                                              PADMABEN SHAMALBHAI PATEL
 A
                                                                                                                              v.
                                                                                                         STATE OF GUJARAT

                                                                                                                 JANUARY 18, 1991

                                                                        [A.M. AHMADI, V. RAMASWAMI AND
                                                                              M. FATHIMA BEEVI, JJ.]

             Indian Evidence Act, 1872: S.32-Dying declarations-Recor-
       ded by- medical~men-Not in question-and-answer form-Probative
       y~lue of-Whether conviction can be based on.

 c            Indian Penal Code, 1860: S. 302-Homicidal death-Deceased
       ~~t aflame by pouring kerosene-Suffered 90% burns-Dying declara-
       tions made to medical-men-Accused named as tormentor-Acquittal
       by Sessions Court on benefit of doubt-:-Appeal against-Conviction-
       Sentence of life imprisonment awarded-Validity of
  D.
                                  ':fhe wife of appellant's brother was found aflame in the early
       h~urs of 11.6.1975 in the kitchen of her husband's house. She was taken
      to h0,spita~ a11d ad~itted to Burns-ward whe~e the doctor in charge (PW
      5) examined her and while taking her case history enquired of the
                                                as
      injured to what happened, to which she replied, "my nanad (sister-
  E   in-i~w)           burnt ~e". She had suffered 90% of bums. The nurse (PW 4)
      ~as instructed to give treatment. Later another doctor (PW 2) attended
      011 her. Whe~ }le ask~ her as to bow she had received the burns, she
      told. him that her husband's sister had burnt her. In reply to his further
      ciu~ry, she namect ~he appellant as her tormentor. He made a note of
      this fuformation by the victim on the police 'yadi' which was sent to him to
  F ascertain if the victim was in a fit condition to make a dying declaration.
  • As'her condition deteriorateci, the victim was not in position to make
         ~    '<     .,..,,       II                   l'.'       . < : "             •
                                                                                                                                             a
                                                                                                                                                     -
      any staten;i.~nt t~ the police. The investigation culminated in the appel-
      la11:t '1e~g charged u11der s. 302, I.P.C. for causing the murder of her
    - t>i:~i~t:~~s. wife by poµi;ing kerosene on her person and setting her
     aflam~           •
      ._,.1.,.•I.\;._ •
. Gi
 ~
                                  On trial, the Sessions Court held that the deceased had not the
       r~q1,1tsite. ~~».tat c0n.dition so as to make an a~ptabie !lyh;g_declaration.
       and that her busband was very much near the cot, and hence possibility
       (lf.' iuto~big !th~ d~ceased could not .be ruled out. Giving the benefit of
       '•?         T ~ I • ~               .(   f ·.          ·     t   .i"       1                 '        '    ·           ~     ·-   ,       '

       doubt it acquitted the appellant.
       \.4.        ~). ••     '        l   :ii- .... \. •                • ' c.       "( -   '[ ;i.~ -   .            •   '


 H
 • l



                                                                                                                              88
                               P.S. PATEL v. v. STATE OF GUJARAT                        89

             .    In the State's appeal ag.tinst acquittal, a Division Bench of the A
             High Court re-appreciated the prosecution evidence and after ciosely
             ~xamining the reasons given by the Sessions oourt, held them thoroughly
             untenable and not supported by the evidence on record. It set aside the
             order of acquittal, convicted the accused of murder and sentenced her
                                                                                     .,
             to imprisonment for life.
                                                                                     B
                   The appellant-accused appealed to this Court challenging the
             aforesaid conviction and sentence on the ground that the High Co.Uri
 --   -(     erred in law in holding the view taken by .the trial court as les8 prob~
             able. It was contended that the deceased having suffered 90% of burns
             and her general condition being poor, she was not in a fit mental state to
             make the dying declaration; that the dying declarations were not in              t
             question-and-answer fopn; and that the p0ssibility of tutoring the
             deceased could not be ruled out.

      .,,.         Dismissing the appeal, this Court,
       '
                   HELD: 1. A dying declaration is admissible in evidence . ~l'.i the
                                                                                              b
             principle of necessity and can form the basis for conviction if;f~~~ttitd
             to be reliable. While it is in the nature of an exception to t~.· ~al
             rule forbidding hearsay evidence, it is admitted on the preriliss that
             ordinarily a dying person will not falsely implicate    an
                                                                     innocent ~rs0fi
             in the commission of a serious crime. It· is this premiss which is ron-
             sidered strong enough to set off the need that the maker of the siate'ment       E
             should state so on oath and be cross-examined by. the person who is
             sought to be implicated. [94H; 95A•B}
-                   2.1 Being an independent piece of e'Viacnce like any otlief pi~ of
             evidence-Neither extra ~trong nor weak-a dying declaration can i;e'
-..-r        acted upon without corroboration if it is found to be otherwise true and         F
             reliable, and in order to form the sole basis for conviction witlfuut the
             need for independent corroboration it must be shoWb d1'at itie persoli
             making it had the opportunity of mdentifying the persc>n ifnpftcitcd ail([
             is thoroughly reliable and free from blemish. [9Sn; 9sBJ

                    2.2 If it is found that the maker of the sia1em'eiit w$ in afit stilit    6
             of mind and had volunatariiy made the statenient on the basis oi
             personal knowledge without being influenced by others· and the      com   oil.
             strict scrutiny rmds it to be reliable, there is no role /jf IlW' or' even Of
             prudence thllt such a reliable piece of e\lideiice cannot .f\le· ·~ u,ow
             unless it is corroborated. [9sc] -                                               ;ti
    90                      SUPREME COURT REPORTS              [1991) 1 S.C.R.

A          3.1 In the instant· case, since the incident occurrect In the eatiy
    hours· of the day, there was possibility of il family member being
    involved; and as the incident took piace ·in broad· day light; there
    could be no doubt that the deceased had an opportunity to see bet'
    tormentor. The deceased told the doctor (PW 5) that her 'nanad' had
    set her on fire. Since the appellant was the only sister of her husband,
B
    there remained no doubt about the identity of the 'naoad' (husband's shter
    or sister-in-law). Doubt, if any, was removed by another doctor's ~
    (PW 2) to whom she disclmed the name of the appellant. [9SD; 94D, 95F-O]

           3.2 The mere fact that the deceased had suffered 90% burns and
    her general condition was poor' was no reason to discard the testimony
C . of ·both the medical Dien when they said that she was in a fit state of mind
    and was able. to make the dying declarations in question. Both the
    doctors were conscious of her condition and would not have attached
    any importance to her statement if they had any doubt about her mental
    capacity. Besides the oral evidence of the two medical men, there were
    contemporaneous documents showing that the deceased made the state-              r,
D
    ments in question. [96E; 95G; 94G J

           Sure.$h ! . State of M. P., (1987] 2 SCC 32, relied on.

           3.3 The doctors (PW 2 and PW 5) merely questioned the victim
     for the limited purpose of recording the case history. Having regard to
     her condition, they could not have questioned her in detail. In the
     circumstances, the fact of the statements being cryptic was understand-
     able; and the failure on their part to record her statements in question-
    .and-answer form could in no manner affect the probative value to be
     attached to their evidence. {97A-B; 96G] ·
F
         Bankey lalv. State of U.P., (1971) 3 SCC 184, relied on and Rabi
    Chandra Padhan & Ors. v. State of Orissa, (1980] 1 SCC 240, held
    inapplicable.

           4~ Being conscious of the fact that while dealing with an acquittal            r1__
    appeal,· the I cOurt Should give due Weight tO the vieWS Of the trial CQurf On
G   the question of -credibility of the prosecution evidence and should not
    lightly interfere with its appreciation, the High Court carefully
    scrutinised the evidence, particularly in regard to the two oral dying
    declarations, and rightly concluded that there was no possibility of
    tutoring nor was the deceased1 mentally unfit. to make the said dying
H   declarations~ {93C-E] · ·            -
                         P.S. PATEL v. STATE OF GUJARAT                      91

            Balak Ram & Anr. v. State of U.P., [1975] 1 SCR 153 and
                                                                                  A
       Lallubhaiv. State of Gujarat, [1971] 3 SCC 767, referred to.

            CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal
       No. 326 of 1979.

            From the Judgment and Order dated 4.5.1979 of the Gujarat             B
       High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 389 of 1976.


 --
- (
           T.U. Mehta, P.H. Parekh and Ms. Geetanjali Mathrani for the
       Appellant.

             D.A. Dave, Anip Sachthey and B.R. Jad for the Respondent.
                                                                                  c
             The following Order of the Court was delivered:

             The appellant was charged under Section 302 I.P.C. for causing
       murder of Gangaben, her brother's wife, in the early hours of 11th
       June, 1975 by pouring kerosene on her person and setting her aflame.       D
       The marriage had taken place with J ayantilal, the brother of the appel-
       lant, hardly three months before the incident in question. On the date
      ·of the incident the deceased was in the husband's house when the
       unfortunate incident took place. On hearing the. cries a neighbour
       Prahladbhai went to the house and found that the deceased was inside
       the kitchen. He pushed opened the door and saw the deceased aflame.
       The said Prahladbhai, Bhanubhai, the brother of the appellant, and
       others took her to Shardaben Hospital for treatment. They reached
       the casualty department at about 6.45 a.ni. and thereafter she was
       admitted to the Burns-Ward as an indoor patient at about 6.50 a.m.
       Within five minutes thereafter PW 5 Dr. Kiritkumai: Solanki examined
       her. While taking her case-history he enquired of the injured as to        F
       what had happened. The injured replied "my nanad (sister-in-law)
       burnt me". He prescribed certain medicines, noted the case-history
       and thereafter instructed the nurse. PW 4 Pankajben, to give the treat-
       ment. Dr. Solanki was incharge of the Burns-Ward at the relevant time
       as PW 2. Dr. Suresh Ambvani, was absent. Dr. Ambvani arrived at
       about 8.30 a.m. ip. the ward and examined the patient. After noting        G
       her pulse, etc., he asked her how she had received the burns. She told


 -·
       him that she had been burnt. On further questioning she stated that
       her hµsband's sister had burnt her. Dr. Ambvani thereupon asked her
       the name of her husband's sister which she disclosed as Padma, the
       appellant before us. Dr. Ambvani later made a note about the infor-
       mation divulged by the victim on the e_~lice 'yadi' wh~ch was received     H
    92                      SUPREME COURT REPORTS              [199i] 1 S.C.R.

    at about 2.45 p.m. to ascertain if the victim was in a fit conditiOii to
A   make a dying declaration.

          After the victim was brought io the hospital a teiephtine message
    was sent to Madhupura Police Station. The investigating officer in the
    course of investigation recorded the panchnama of the scene of occur-
    rence at about 10.15 a.m. The panchnama shows that the residence of
    the victim was on the first floor. In the outer rooin pieces of butnt
    clothes and a peeled skin piece were found. To the south thereof was
    the kitchen which was smelling of kerosene. Pieces of burnt clothes
    were also lying in that kitchen. There was a primus with a burner and
    broken match bo_x soiled with :water lying alongside certahi garments,
    namely, two blouses, two petti-coats and two half burnt satees. There
                                                                                    -
c   was water on the floor.

         'Inspec.tor Nagori claims to have interrogated the accused on tiie
    same day but arrested her on the next day at about 5;00 p.m. The
    investigation thereafter proceeded in usual course and ultimately the
D   appellant came to be charged as stated above.

           The prosecution mainly reiies on the evidence of the two medical
     men PW 2 Dr. Ambvani and PW 5 Dr. Solanki. In addition thereto
    reliance is place'd on the evidence of the two nurses PW 3 Rukshmani-
    ben and PW 4 Pankajben. The neighbour PW 7 Prahladbhai was also
E   examined but he turned hostile. On an appreciation of the evidence of
    these witnesses the learned City Sessions Judge, Ahmedabad, canie to
    the conclusion that this was a case of homicidal death. That conclusion
    has been confirmed by the High Court aiid has not been contested
    before us. With regard to the evidence of the hvti inetlicai irleri the trial
    judge _concluded that there was no reason to doubt their testiinony
                                                                                    -
    since the saine was corroborated by the contemporaneous entries
    made by them in the case paper and the police 'yadi'. Taking note of
    the evidence of PW !Dr. Piirohit who performed the post-~ortem and
    the evidence of PW 5 Dr. Solanki, he came to the conclusion that the
    victim was in a position to speak. Having regard to the fact that she
    had 90% of burns, her prilse was 130, respiration was 20 and her
0   general condition was not good, he coricluded, relying on the decisions
    of this Court in Balak Ram & Anr. v. State of U.P., (1975] 1 SCR 753
    ( 1975 Crl. Appeals Reporter 39) and Lallubhai v. State vf Gujarat,
    [ 1971] 3 sec 767 ( i972 Crl. Ll 628) that the deceased could riot be in
    a fit state of mind wheri she iriade the dying declaration. He thought it
    unsafe to place implicit reliance on the said evidence paHicuiady
    because it was the ctppeifant's cohterition ·that she was not on g0od
                            P.S. PATEL V. STATE OF GUJARAT                        93

        terrris witil Her b'roiher i.e. the husband of Hie deceased. the learned
        trial j ucige aiso thought that the possibillty bf tUtoririg couid not b'e
        ruled out. In this view, that he took, he gave ilie beriefit of doubt to the
        appeilant and acquitted her.

              The State feeling aggrieved, filed an appeal; being Criminai
        Appeai No. 389 of 1976, which was heard and decided by a Division
        Bench of the High Court of Gujarat on 4th May, 1979. The High Court
        on a re-appreciation of the prosecution evidence concluded that tl:ie
        view taken by the learned Sessions Judge was thorougiily utitenable.
        The High Court pointed out that two main reasons which weighed with
        the learned Sessions iudge for acquitting the appellant were-"(i) that
        the deceased had not the requisite mentai condiiion so as to rna:ke
        acceptable dying declaration: arid (ii) that her husband'was vefy much c
        near the cot of the deceased, and hence, the possibility of tutoring the
        deceased cannot be ruled out". The High Court closely examined both
        these reasons and conchided that they could not be supported by the
    1   evidence ori record. Being conscious of the fact that while dealing with
        an acquittai appeal, the High Court should give due weight to the ij
        views tif the trail court on the question of credibility of the prosecution
        evidence and should not lightly interfere with its appreciation, it care-
        fully scrutinized the evidence, particularly in regard tb the tWo otai
        dying declarations, arid concluded that there was no possibility of
        tutoring rior was the deceased mentaliy unfit to niake the dying decla-
        rations. fo that view of the matter it reversed the order of acquittal,
        convicted the appellant of murder and sentenced her to life mipri5orunent .
                                                                                        •
-              Mr. Mehta, the learned counsel for the appeliarH, has taken us
        through the entire evidence as well the case law on which the learned
        trial Judge has based his order of acquittal. H.e also invited our atten-
        tion to a ni.Iinoet of decisions of this Court in support of his cohteritioti
        that the High Court ought riot to have interfered with the drder of
        acquittal. According to him the High Court should Have giveti dtie
        tegatd to ine appreciation of evidence by the iriai court and should riot
        have iightly brushed aside its condiisioh ori facts. Cdtinsei submitted
        that an order bf acgi.Iittal strengthens the prestimption of innocence
        which should not be dislodged unless the appellate court conies to the              G
        conclusion that the trial court has committed a manifest ertcir of judg-
        ment resulting in miscarriage of justice. His submission was that this
        Court should approach the question by inqufring if the High Court had
        adhered to tiie well-seh!ed prillciple that if two views are pdssible arid
        the trial cotirt accepts one view whicli t&e High Court cbhsiders Jess
        probable, the High tourt will rtot reverse tile trial coi.iit lasHy he
      94                     SUPREME COURT REPORTS             (1991] 1 S.C.R.

     contended that although a conviction can be based-sofeIY on a dying
A
     declaration, courts should be slow to accept a dying declaration as true
     where it is not recorded in question and answer form and is cryptic.in        ,,.,,
     nature, since it is,3 piece of evidence not tested by cross-examination.
     The weight to be attached to a dying declaration must largely depend
     on whether or not the deceased was a fit state of mind to make it an<;l
B    since in the present case the trial court had ruled against the prosecl!l-
     tion, the High Court was not justified'inreversing the trial court, mo're
     so beca\,lse it was doubtful if she could speak at all having regard tq the
     burns on her lips and tongue. In support of his_submissions he cited a
     host of decisions of this Court but it is unnecessary to refer to them as
                                                                                    "- -
     on principle there can be no dispute with the propositions of law stated
     by the appellant's counsel. We have given our anxious considerations
c    to these submissions but we are afraid we cannot accede to them
     because in the facts of the present case we are satisfied that the High
     Court would have failed in its duty if it had not reversed the decision of
     the trial court.
                                                                                      y
D.           The evidence on record shows that the marriage had taken place
      hardly three months before the incident. Even on the appellant's own
      showing her relations with the deceased were not strained. The appel-
      !ant is the only sister of the husband of the deceased. The word 'nanad'
      means the husband's sister. Therefore, when the deceased told PW 5
      Dr. Solanki that her 'nanad' had set her on fire, she meant the appel-
E     !ant and none else. The evidence of nurse PW 4 Pankajben corrobo-               _>---
      rates the evidence of Dr. Solanki. Both these witnesses have deposed
     ·that the deceased was in a fit state of minq and was able to speak,



F
      elbeit with difficulty. If there was any doubt 6n the question of identity
      it was cleared by PW 2, Dr. Suresh Ambvarii fo whon;i the deceased
      gave the name of her tormentor as Padma. The learned Sessions
      Judge, also came to the conclusion that notwithstanding the extensive
                                                                                                -
     -burns the patient was conscious and was able to speak at the time she
      made the d_ying declarations. Her condition soon deteriorated and by
                                                                                            r
      2 .45 p.m. she was not in a position to !Ilake any statement to the police   --><
      as recorded by PW 2 Dr. Ambvani on the police..-'yadi'. Dr. Anibvani
      had, however, recorded what the patient had tolO him. Therefore,
G     besides the oral evidence of the two medical-men there are contem-
      poraneous documents which go to show that the deceased made the
      statements in question. Even the learned Sessions Judge did not doubt
      the correctness ot truth of what both the medical~men dep_osed but in         .....
      his view the deceased was not mentally fit when -she named the
                                                                                     r--
      appellant.                                                                                iJlll
H
           It is well-settled by a catena of cases that a dying declaration is
                                            P.S. PATEL v. STATE OF GUJARAt                         95

                         admissible iti evidence on the principle of necessity and can fonn the
                         basis for conviction if it is found to be reliable. While it is in the nature   A
                        !:lf aft exception to the general rule forbidding hearsay evidertce, it is
                        admitted ofi the premiss that ordinarily a dying person will not falsely
                        itnpllcate an innocent person in the commission of a serious cdtne. It is
                         this premiss which is considered strong enough fo set off the need that
                        the maker df the statement should state so on oath and be cross"
                        examined by the person who is sought to be implicated. in otder that Ii


       --          /
                        dying deelaration tnay form the sole basis for conviction without the
                        need for independent corroboration it must be shown that the person
                         making it had the opportunity of identifying the person implicated and
                        is thoroughly reliable and free from blemish. If, in the facts and
                         circumstances Of the case, it is found that the maker of the statement
                         was in a fit state of mind and had voluntarily made the statement oil           c
                         the basis of personal knowledge without being influenced by others
                         and the court on strict scrutiny finds it to be reliable there is no rule of
                        law or even of prudence that such a reliable piece of evidence cannot
                        be acted upon unless it is corroborated, A dying declaration is an
                        independent piece of evidence like any other piece of evidence-                  D
                        neithe~ extra strong nor wea.~-and can be acted upon without corrob-
                        oration if it is found to be otherwise true and reliable. In 'the present
                        case there can be no doubt that the deceased had an opportunity to see
                        her tormentor as the incident happened in broad day light. Since the
       __ _____.
                        incident occurred in the early hours of the day there was the possibility
                        of a family member being involved. There being no dispute that death_            E
                        was homicidal, the question is who did it? As n"o relative from the side
                        of her parents was present, the possibility of tutoring by them must be
....                    ruled out. The theory that her husband prompted her to name the
                        appellan·t because his relations with the appellant were strained must
                        be brushed aside as devoid of merit. Except the appellant's statement
 -~
                        in this behalf, there is no other evidence-no such foundation was laid           F
                        in the cross-examination of the investigating officers. Since it is con-
                        ceded that the appellant's relations with the deceased were not bad, it
                       _is ~ifficult to understand why the latter should falsely involve her,
                        assuming her husband did prompt her, and allow her real tormentor to
                        escape. Since the appellant is the only sister of her husband, there
                        remains no doubt about the indentity of the 'nanad' (husband's sister            G
                        or sister-in-law). Doubt, if any, is removed by PW 2 Dr. Ambvani's
                        evidence to whom she disclosed the name 'Padma'. Both the medical-
                        men were conscious about her condition and, therefore, they would
                        not have attached any importance to her statement if they had any
                        doubt about her mental capacity. Even Mr. Mehta had to concede that
                        he was not in a -position to say that the two medical-men were                   H
                       motivated in giving false evidence.
    96                     SUPREME COURT REPORTS             [1991) 1 S.C.R.

          Mr. Mehta, howevet, contended that apart frotn the fad that the
A   appellant had 90% burns, her pulse rate was high and she had respira-
    tory difficulty, the evidence of PW 5 Dr. Solanki shows that he had
    prescribed morphine injection and, therefore, by the time PW 2 Dr.
    Ambvarii examined her she couid not be in a concious state to make
    the dying declaration to him. In this connection he relied on the state-
    ment of PW 4 Pankajberi who stated that she had given the treatment
    prescribed by Dr. Solanki. Mr. Mehta, however, overlooks PW 4
    Pankajhen's categbricai statement that she had iiot given any injection
    to the victim. On the other hand the other nurse PW 2 Rukshmaniben            ""--   -

    deposed that she had given the morphine injection intravenously.after
    Ot. Ariibva:ni left the ward. Therefore, this submission has no merit.
c          Mt. Mehta then submitted that having regard to the fact that the
    victim had 90% burns and her general condition was poor, it would be
    haiardous to ho1d that het statements to the two medical-men were
    true. He also argued that she had burns on her lips and her tongue was
    swollen making it doubtfill if she could talk. We do not think there is
D   any merit in this submission. In Suresh v'. State of M.P., [1987) 2 SCC
    3.2 this Court was required to deal with a more or less similar situation.
    In that case the victim had sustained 100% burns of the second degree
    arid het dying declaration was recorded by Dr. Bhargava in the hospi-
    ta:i. Dr. Bhatgava had deposed that the victim was in a fit state of
    health. The evidence; however, disciosed that while Dr. Bhargava was
    rec'ordiiig het statement the victim had started going into a coma. Yet
    this Court accepted the dying declaration made by the victim to Dr.


                                                                                             -
    Bhargava. Therefore, the mere fact that she had suffered 90% burns
    and her getietal condition was poor is no reason to discard the
    testimony of both the tnedical-men wheri they say that she wa& in.a._tit
    state of mind arid was able to make the dying declaration i?_qUestion.

            Lastly, the contention that since the dying declarationS: w.ere not
    in question and answer form they must be discarded altogethey.Jf; not
    correct. Dr. Solanki had merely asked the patient how she was burtit
    to record the history of her case. the victim answered by stating that
    her 'nanad' (husband's sister) had burnt her. Dr. Ambvani too had
    trlerely ttied to ascertain from the' deceased how she was burnt and it
    was only after she stated that she was burnt by bet sister-in-law that he
    tried to find the name of her tormentor. In these circumstances we do
    ritit think that the failure on the part of the m:edical-ruen to record her    ;--
    statements in question and answer form can in any marth:er affect the
    ptobittive value to be &ttached to their evidence. In Rabi Chandra
    Padftan & Ors. v. Staie bf drissa, (19801 1sec240 at p. 244 this Court
                       P'.S. PATEL v: STATE OF GUJARAT                      97

     merely stateq that the dying dec)aration SQ()U!c:l preferably b~ iq t~~
     question aqd answer form. Thai would be so when the st;iteµiept of the
     yictim is sought to be recorded as a dyi:ng declar~JiPI!· But in the
     instant case as see~ from th~ evid.ence of J:>p~~ the m~di~al-meI). they
     merely questioned her for the limited p~rpose of stating the history of
     the case. Even othenvtse having regarc:l t() her cpnqitjon they couM not
     have questioned her in detail. In sucq circumst:in~es tl~e t:ic~ qf the
     statements being crypti!:: is understandable. See Bankey [-,al y. State of

--   U.P. [1971] 3 SCC 184. We, therefore, do not thiq~ that it would be
     reasonable to discard the prosecµtiop ~vidence in regarc:I to tpe dying
     declaration on such slender group.ds.

           In the result we see no merit in this appeal and dismiss ~he same.     C
     The appellant will submit to her bail within fifteen days from today.
     Bail bond will stand cancelled.

     R.P.                                                  Appeal dismissed.


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