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TMI Blog2009 (5) TMI 975X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by a person who is dead, or who cannot be found, or who has become incapable of giving evidence, or whose attendance cannot be procured, without an amount of delay or expense which under the circumstances of the case appears to the Court unreasonable, are themselves relevant facts in the following cases: (1) when it relates to cause of death.-- When the statement is made by a person as to the cause of his death, or as to any of the circumstances of the transaction which resulted in his death, in cases in which the cause of that person's death comes into question. Such statements are relevant whether the person who made them was or was not, at the time when they were made, under expectation of death, and whatever may be the nature of the proceeding in which the cause of his death comes into question. 4. The legal position relating to the admissibility of evidence under Section 32(1) has come up for consideration before this Court time and again. It is not necessary to multiply the authorities in this regard as reference to a three Judge Bench decision of this Court in Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra 1984CriLJ1738 will suffice. Regarding the application ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ase of suicide. (5) Where the main evidence consists of statements and letters written by the deceased which are directly connected with or related to her death and which reveal a tell-tale story, the said statement would clearly fall within the four corners of Section 32 and, therefore, admissible. The distance of time alone in such cases would not make the statement irrelevant. 5. A. Varadarajan, J. on the other hand referred to the legal position stated by Woodroffe and Amir Ali in their Law of Evidence,(fourteenth edition) and Ratanlal Dhirajlal in their Law of Evidence (1982 Reprint). This is how A. Varadarajan, J. dealt with the admissibility of evidence under Section 32(1): ...The position of law relating to the admissibility of evidence under Section 32(1) is well settled. It is, therefore, not necessary to refer in detail to the decisions of this Court or of the Privy Council or our High Courts. It would suffice to extract what the learned authors Woodroffe and Amir Ali have stated in their Law of Evidence, Fourteenth Edn. and Ratanlal and Dhirajlal in their Law of Evidence (1982 Reprint). Those propositions are based mostly on decisions of courts for which refere ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... urce of perplexity to courts faced with the question as to what matters are admissible within the meaning of the expression. The decision of Their Lordships of the Privy Council in Pakala Narayana Swami v. Emperor AIR1939PC47 sets the limits of the matters that could legitimately be brought within the purview of that expression. Lord Atkin, who delivered the judgment of the Board, has, however, made it abundantly clear that, except in special circumstances no circumstance could be a circumstance of the transaction if it is not confined to either the time actually occupied by the transaction resulting in death or the scene in which the actual transaction resulting in death took place. The special circumstance permitted to transgress the time factor is, for example, a case of prolonged poisoning, while the special circumstance permitted to transgress the distance factor is, for example, a case of decoying with intent to murder.... But the circumstances must be circumstances of the transaction and they must have some proximate relation to the actual occurrence. Page 948: `Circumstances of the transaction' is a phrase no doubt that conveys some limitations. It is not as broad as ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Rani @ Raj Kumari was found in a well in village Pyasi. Autopsy of the dead body was done. The cause of death was asphyxia due to drowning. Smt. Ranjana Rani @ Raj Kumari had married the appellant, Bhairon Singh, about 10 years before her death. Gauna ceremony is said to have been held after three years of marriage. The prosecution case is that after one year of Gauna, the accused subjected his wife to torture and harassment. The accused would ask his wife to ask her brother to arrange a job for him or get the registry of the house at Ganj Basoda made in his name or that she should bring ₹ 1 lac to enable him to start business. Ranjana Rani @ Raj Kumari is said to have told the incidence of torture and harassment to her brothers Brindavan (PW-4) and Krishan Murari (PW-5). 7. The accused was charged and tried for the offences punishable under Sections 304B, 306 and 498A, IPC and under Section 3 of Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. The prosecution in support of its case examined seven witnesses namely, Ghuman (PW-1), Prakash Chand (PW-2), Dr. Sunil Kumar Pandya (PW-3), Brindavan (PW-4), Krishan Murari (PW-5), N.P. Rajoriya (PW-6) and Lalaram (PW-7). The accused also examined thre ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... orture and harassment to Ranjana Rani @ Raj Kumari was concerned. 11. The moot question is: whether the statements attributed to the deceased could be used as evidence for entering upon a finding that the accused subjected Ranjana Rani @ Raj Kumari to cruelty as contemplated under Section 498A, IPC. In our considered view, the evidence of PW-4 and PW-5 about what the deceased Ranjana Rani @ Raj Kumari had told them against the accused about the torture and harassment is inadmissible under Section 32(1) of the Evidence Act and such evidence cannot be looked into for any purpose. Except Section 32(1) of the Indian Evidence Act, there is no other provision under which the statement of a dead person can be looked into in evidence. The statement of a dead person is admissible in law if the statement is as to the cause of death or as to any of the circumstance of the transactions which resulted in her death, in a case in which the cause of death comes into question. What has been deposed by PW-4 and PW-5 has no connection with any circumstance of transaction which resulted in her death. The death of Smt. Ranjana Rani @ Raj Kumari was neither homicidal nor suicidal; it was accidental. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... itten or verbal) the statement must be as to the cause of her death or as to any of the circumstance of the transactions which resulted in her death, in cases in which the cause of death comes into question. By no stretch of imagination can the statements of Damyanti contained in Exhibit P-7 or Exhibit P-8 and those quoted by the witnesses be connected with any circumstance of the transaction which resulted in her death. Even that apart, when we are dealing with an offence under Section 498A IPC disjuncted from the offence under Section 306 IPC the question of her death is not an issue for consideration and on that premise also Section 32(1) of the Evidence Act will stand at bay so far as these materials are concerned. 13. The learned Counsel for the State, however, invited our attention to Section 6 of the Evidence Act and referred to a decision of this Court in Sukhar v. State of U.P. 2000CriLJ29 14. Section 6 of the Evidence Act reads thus: 6. Relevancy of facts forming part of same transaction.-- Facts which, though not in issue, are so connected with a fact in issue as to form part of the same transaction, are relevant, whether they occurred at the same time and place ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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