MUKESHBHAI GOPALBHAI BAROTversusSTATE OF GUJARAT

                        [2010] 9 S.C.R. 632


A               MUKESHBHAI GOPALBHAI BAROT
                                  v.
                       STATE OF GUJARAT
                 (Criminal Appeal No. 15 of 2010)
                         AUGUST 4, 2010
B
       [HARJIT SINGH BEDI AND CHANDRAMAULI KR.
                      PRASAD, JJ.]

                   '
        Penal Code, 1860:
c
       s. 302 and s. 3 (2) (v) of Attrocities Act - Death of a
  married Scheduled Caste woman by burn injuries - Three
  dying declarations recorded by Magistrate, the police official
  and the husband of the victim, respectively - Prosecution of
D accused, an Advocate and family friend, on the basis of the
  dying declaration recorded by husband of deceased -
  Acquittal by trial court - Conviction by High Court - HELD:
  High Court erred in holding that the first two dying
  declarations had no evidentiary value - A bare perusal of
E sub-s.(2) of s.162 CrPC when read with s.32 of Evidence Act
  would reveal that a statement of a person recorded uls 161
  CrPC would be treated as a dying declaration after his death
  - In this view of the matter, the first dying declaration made
  to the Magistrate would, in fact, be the First Information Report
  in this case - The first two dying declarations completely
F exonerated the accused from wrong doing, and attributed the
  bum injuries to an accident - There is nothing on record which
  could indicate that the accused was present at that time - Even
  more significant is the second dying declaration recorded by
  the Police Officer in the presence of the brother and the
G husband of the deceased and they had attested this
  document as well - On the contrary, the third dying declaration
  is obviously suspicious, as the manner in which it has been
  written, and the flow of words indicate that this could not be

H                                632
  MUKESHBHAI GOPALBHAI BAROT v. STATE OF                  633
                GUJARAT
the statement of a person who was on the verge of death - A
Besides, it was written on 17-9-1993 and the complaint was
filed on 26-9~ 1993 on which date the husband of the deceased
also mal;ie an application to the Government seeking
compensation on the death of his wife being a Scheduled
Caste and was entitled to compensation on that account - The B
compensation has since been taken - The two letters relied
upon by the High Court do not, in any way, advance the case
of the prosecution and on the contrary they indicate that the
a/legation of an attempted rape of the deceased by the
accused, whom he regarded as his sister, was a story created c
long after the incident by the husband in order to take
compensation - There is absolutely no evidence of homicide
in this case - Accordingly, the trial court has correctly
recorded the findings that the deceased suffered an accidental
death - The judgment of High Court is set aside - Appeal
                                                               0
against acquittal - The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
 Tribes (Prevention of Attrocities) Act, 1989 - s.3(2)(v).

    Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973:

     Appeal against acquittal - HELD: It has repea,tedly been     E
held that interference by High Court in an appeal against
acquittal should be minimal and only in cases where the trial
court judgment is perverse or does not flow from the evidence
- in the instant case, the judgment of High Court has
completely ignored this basic principle - The judgment of trial   F
court based on a correct appreciation of the evidence, was
completely in accordance with law and did not warrant
interference by High Court.

    CRIMINAL AP PELLATE JURISDICTION : Criminal Appeal
No. 15 of 2010.                                                   G

    From the Judgment & Order dated 08.09.2009 of the High
Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in Criminal Appeal No. 94 of
1998.
                                                                  H
    634       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2010] 9 S.C.R.


A       Maganbhai Barot, E.C. Agrawala, Nakul Mohta, Mahesh
    Agarwal, Rishi Agrawala for the Appellant.

          Ninad Laud, Jesal, Hemantika Wahi for the Respondent.

          The following order of the Court was delivered
B
                                ORDER

          The facts leading to this appeal are as under:

       1. The appellant accused, a lawyer by profession, was
C residing in Kaloi, District Mahesana whereas Kamlaben Ratilal
  Parmar, wife of Ratilal Hemabhai Paramar PW-7, deceased
  was residing along with her family at Mahesana and was
  serving as a Mid-wife at the Primary Health Centre in village
  Vamaj, Taluka Kadi, District Mahesana. Kamlaben had also
D been allotted a residential quarter in village Vamaj. The
  appellant was known to the family of the deceased as she had
  appointed him as an advocate to represent her in a
  departmental enquiry. On the 14th September 1993 the
  deceased, as per her routine, left for village Vamaj to attend
E to her duties. At about 11 a.m. she went to her residential
  quarter. The appellant also reached that place and taking
  advantage of the fact that she was alone, asked her to have
  intercourse with him saying that he would not disclose the facts
  to anyone, but in case she refused his advances, he would
F disclose her illicit relationships with several other persons to
  her husband. The deceased, however, did not succumb to the
  pressure, which annoyed the appellant and he pushed her onto
  a cot and tried to rape her. The deceased resisted the attempt
  but the appellant picked up some kerosene oil and threw it on
G her and set her on fire. The cries of agony of the deceased
  attracted several persons residing in the locality and fearing
  that his guilt would be exposed, the appellant himself doused
  the flames and removed the deceased (who was by then
  unconscious) in a jeep to the Kaloi Civil Hospital where she
H was admitted at about 12.45 p.m. PW1 the Medical Officer,
       MUKESHBHAI GOPALBHAI BAROT v. STATE OF                  635
                     GUJARAT
    who was on duty at the relevant time, informed the Kaloi City A
    Police Station and the Officer In-charge in turn informed the
    Kadi Police Station. On receiving the information PSI Trivedi
    PW14 of Kadi Police Station went to the place of incident and
    made the necessary enquiries and prepared the Panchnama
    and also picked up several incriminating articles. In the B
    meanwhile, as the condition of the victim had deteriorated, she
    was shifted to the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital and the Officer
     In-Charge of Kadi Police Station was also told about the
    transfer. Necessary arrangements were made for recording the
     dying declaration of the victim which came to be recorded on      c
     the same day i.e. on 14th September 1993 by the Executive
     Magistrate. A second statement was recorded by the police two
     days thereafter and in both these two dying declarations she
     stated that she had been burnt accidentally and nobody was
     responsible for her injuries. Kamlaben succumbed to her injuries
                                                                        0
     on the 18th September 1993 and on 26th September 1993 the
     ~usband of the deceased, Ratilal Hemabhai Parmar PW7, gave
     a complaint in the police station alleging inter-alia that shortly
  · before her death she had informed him that the appellant was
     responsible for her injuries and he had thrown kerosene on her
     and set on fire, on her refusal to accept his sexual advances. It E
     is in this background that the appellant was arrested, and after
     investigation a charge-sheet was filed against him and he was
c:., ultimately brought to trial for offences punishable under Section-
oli302 etc. of the IPC.
 .   ?,"
                                                                       F
     · 2. The Additional Sessions Judge, in the course of an
· elaborate judgment, held that there were. three dying
  declarations made by the deceased; the first Ex.44 dated 14th
  September 1993 recorded at 4 p.m. by the Executive
  Magistrate, a second Ex.48 by the police on the 16th of G
  September 1993 and in both these statements she had
  completely exonerated the appellant whereas in the third dying
  declaration Ex.59 dated 17th September 1993 allegedly written
  by PW-7 her husband on her dictation she had made a
  complete departure from the earlier dying declarations and H
    636      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2010] 9 S.C.R.


A   inculpated the appellant and as such there appeared to be
    great uncertainty in the veracity of the dying declarations. It also
    observed that the deceased had died on 18th September 1993
    and it was on the basis of the dying declaration Ex.59 that a
    complaint had been registered in the police station on the 26th
B   September 1993 which again was grossly delayed. The trial
    court also held that the reliance of the prosecution on Exs.22
    and 31 admittedly in the handwriting of the accused and
    deceased respectively to indicate that there was something
    amiss and improper in the relationship of the appellant and the
c   deceased was misplaced as the two appeared to share a close
    and healthy relationship, and were on the contrary indicative of
    the deep attachment and concern which a brother would have
    for a sister. The trial court then examined the evidence of PW18
    Dr. Vijay, who had conducted the post-mortem on the dead
    body and opined that this too did not support the prosecution
0
    version. The Court also observed that at the initial stage a
    charge under section 302 of the IPC ha.d been framed against
    the appellant but while the matter was yet pending, an
    application Ex.64 had been filed by the prosecution seeking
    an alteration of the charge from one under Section 302 to 306.
E   The trial court thus opined that in this situation where the
    prosecution itself was not clear about the nature of the case, it
    appeared that the death was caused in a simple accident, as
    was apparent from the first two dying declarations. The trial
    court, accordingly, acquitted the appellant-accused. An appeal
F   against acquittal was taken to the High Court. The High Court
     prefaced its judgment in the following terms:

          "This is a classic case where the knowledge possessed
          by an individual in the specialized filed of law has been
G         successfully utilized by him in influencing the outcome of
          a criminal case in which he has been charged of an
          offence of murder and alternatively, of the charge of
          abetment to commit suicide. Hereinafter, we shall see as
          to how effectively, tactfully and successfully the legal
H
   MUKESHBHAI GOPALBHAI BAROT v. STATE OF                      637
                 GUJARAT
      knowledge possessed by the accused has been utilized             A
      in converting a serious criminal act of causing the death
      of a married lady into an accidental death."

  The Court accordingly reversed the judgment of the trial court
  on all material particulars by observing that the neither of the     8
  dying declarations Ex.44 and 48 could not be treated as First
  Information Reports and it was only Ex.59 on which the FIR had
  formally been recorded on 26th September 1993, which was
  the First Information Report in the light of the provisions of
  Sections 161 and 162 of the Cr.P .C. The High Court further held     C
  that the first two dying declarations had no evidentiary value and
  were even otherwise suspicious statements as they had been
  recorded in the presence of the appellant. The court also held
  that the appellant had indeed been with the deceased in her
  residential quarter when the incident had happened and that
  the evidence would have to be appreciated in that background.        D
  The High Court, accordingly, accepted the prosecution story that
  taking advantage of the fact that the deceased was alone in
  her quarter, the appellant had asked her to have intercourse
  with him and on her refusal, he had got annoyed and burnt her
  after pouring kerosene oil and it was only to cover up his           E
  criminal act (as her loud cries had attracted the neighbours) that
  he had doused the fire himself and had rushed her to the
  hospital in a borrowed jeep. The High Court further opined that
· Exs.22 and 31 when read cumulatively, (Ex.22 written by the
  appellant to the deceased and Ex.31 written by the deceased          F
  to the appellant), which were admittedly in the hands of the two,
  proved beyond doubt that the appellant was blackmailing the
  deceased as he was aware of her sexual dalliances with other
  persons and he had, accordingly, attempted to take advantage
  of her predicament to satisfy his lust as well. The Court then       G
  examined the dying declaration Ex.59 recorded on 17th
  September 1993 and observed that it appeared to a genuine
  statement made at a stage when Kamlaben was on the verge
  of death and had decided to speak the truth, notwithstanding
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    638       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2010] 9 S.C.R.


A the fact that the complaint had been filed on 26th September
  1993 after a delay of almost ten days. The court, finally,
  concluded as under:

                "In view of the above discussion, we are of the firm
          opinion that the impugned judgment and order of acquittal
8
          cannot be sustained in the eyes of law and is required to
          be quashed and set aside. As discussed hereinabove, it
          is established that the deceased died a homicidal death.
          The deceased belonged to the backward community and
          the respondent-accused, with the ill-intention to satisfy his
c         sexual desire, entered the quarter of the deceased at a
          time when no one else was present in the house.

                But, when the deceased declined to satisfy his long
          pending illegitimate demand, which is evident from the
D         document at Ex.22 and the dying declaration at Ex.59, the
          respondent-accused caused the death of the deceased
          and thereafter, tried to create a picture of accidental death.

          Looking to the facts and circumstances of the case and
          the evidence on record, particularly, the document at Ex.22,
E
          the dying declaration at Ex.59 and the oral evidence on
          record, we find the respondent-accused guilty for the
          offences punishable u/s 302 IPC and Section 3(ii)(v) of the
          Atrocities Act."

F   The judgment of the trial court was accordingly reversed.

       3. Mr. E.C. Agrawala, the learned counsel for the appellant
  has raised certain basic issues in this appeal. He has pointed
  out that the only material evidence against the appellant which
G had been relied upon by the High Court was the dying
  declaration Ex.59 and if the story projected therein was
  disbelieved, the appellant's conviction could not be sustained
  on the basis of the peripheral and circumstantial evidence. It
  has been pointed out that Exs.44 and 48 were two dying
H declarations, one to a Magistrate and a second to a police
   MUKESHBHAI GOPALBHAI BAROT v. STATE OF                  639
                 GUJARAT
officer, in which the appellant had been completely exonerated     A
of any wrong doing and these were admissible in evidence
contrary to the findings of the High Court, whereas Ex.59
appeared to have been motivated on account of the fact that
in the case of death of Scheduled Caste such as the deceased
in some circumstances, an ex-gratia payment of Rs. 2 lacs was      B
disbursable, and this amount had, indeed, been claimed and
taken by the husband of the deceased, Ratilal PW-7. It has been
pointed out that Exs.22 and 31 were, in fact, entirely in favour
of the appellant and when read together showed the concern
he had towards the deceased as he had often advised her to         c
desist from her illicit affairs and had warned her that in case
she did not do so, he would inform her husband. It has also been
submitted that even if there was some evidence with regard to
the smell of kerosene oil on the carpet on the floor it would in
no way detract from the innocence of the appellant in the face
                                                                   0
of no other evidence, more particularly as the statements
Exs.44 and 48 were to be _read as dying declarations. Mr. Ninad
Laud, the learned counsel for the respondent State of Gujarat
has, however, submitted that the medical evidence clearly
supported the prosecution story that the deceased had been         E
burnt after kerosene oil had been sprinkled on her and
corroboration with regard to the involvement of the appellant
was available in the evidence of PW9 Vithalbhai and PW10
Wankar Devendrabhai. He has also submitted that the
presence of the appellant at the time when the first two dying
declarations had been recorded clearly showed that the             F
deceased had been pressurized to make them and as such
they could not be believed.-.

     4. We have considered the arguments advanced by the
learned counsel for the parties. At the very outset, we must deal G
with the observations of the High Court that the dying
declarations Ex.44 and 48 could not be taken as evidence in
view of the provisions of Section 161 and 162 of the Cr.P.C.
when read cumulatively. These findings are, however,
erro~eous. Sub-Section (1) of Section 32 of the Indian H
    640      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2010] 9 S.C.R.

A   Evidence Act, 1872 deals with several situations including the
    relevance of a statement made by a person who is dead. The
    provision reads as under:

          Sec.32. Cases in which statements of relevant fact by
          person who is dead or cannot be found, etc., is relevant.
B
          - Statements, written or verbal, of relevant facts made 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 o delay
          or expense which, under the circumstances of the case,
c         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
D                      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.
E
                       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
F                      cause of his death comes into question."

  We see that the aforesaid dying declarations are relevant in
  view of the above provision. Even otherwise, Section 161 and
  162 of the Cr.P.C. admittedly provide for a restrictive use of
G the statements recorded during the course of the investigation
  but sub-Section (2) of Section 162 deals with a situation where
  the maker of the statement dies and reads as under:

          "(2) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to apply to any
H
  MUKESHBHAI GOPALBHAI BAROT v. STATE OF                      641
                GUJARAT
     statement falling within the provisions of clause (1) of A
     Section 32 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872),
     or to affect the provisions of section 27 of that Act."

     5. A bare perusal of the aforesaid provision when read with
Section 32 of the Indian Evidence Act would reveal that a             8
statement of a person recorded under Section 161 would be
treated as a dying declaration after his death. The observation
of the High Court that the dying declarations Ex.44 and 48 had
no evidentiary value, therefore, is erroneous. In this view of the
matter, the first dying declaration made to the Magistrate on         C
14th September 1993 would, in fact, be the First Information
Report in this case.

      6. Having said as above, we must now examine as to the
truthfulness of the three dying declarations that had been made
by the deceased. As already mentioned above, the first two D
completely exonerated the appellant from wrong doing, and had
attributed the burn injuries to an accident. The High Court has
given afinding that those documents have no evidentiary value
and were even otherwise shrouded in suspicion as the appellant
had been present at the time when they had been recorded. E
We find this assertion is factually incorrect. We requested the
learned State counsel to show us any material on record which
could indicate that the appellant had, indeed, been present at
that time. He was unable to do so. On the contrary, we find that
the Executive Magistrate had given a note at the end of the dying F
declaration Ex.44 in the following word:

     " At the time of recording the dying declaration the police
     officer/staff or any relatives of the patient are not present,
     the patient is conscious, this verified.
                                                                      G
                                                             Sd/-
                                                       P.P .Patel
                                                          1
                                            Executive Magistrate
                                              Metropolitan Area
                                                  Ahmedabad "         H
    642      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2010) 9 S.C.R.


A   Even more significant perhaps is the dying declaration Ex.48.
    This dying declaration had, admittedly, been recorded by the
    Police Officer in the presence of Babulal Parmar, the brother
    of the deceased and Ratilal PW, the husband of the deceased
    and they had attested this document as well. On the contrary,
s   the statement Ex.59 is obviously suspicious. We have perused
    the original document which is on record and notice that the
    manner in which it has been written, the clarity of the language
    used, the writing and spacing of the words being very
    symmetrical and the flow of words indicate that this could not
c   be the statement of a person who was on the verge of death.
    The High Court has been at pains to point out that as there was
    a reference to letter Ex.22 in this dying declaration, it completed
    the chain against the appellant as this document had apparently
    been concealed by the deceased and it was she and she alone
    who could have told her husband where to find it. We find this
0
    story to be far fetched. Ex.59 was written on 17th September
    1993 and the complaint was filed on the 26th September 1993
    on which date PW7, the husband of the deceased, had also
    made an application to the Government seeking compensation
    on the death of his wife as she belonged to a Scheduled Caste
E   and was entitled to compensation on that account. We are told
    that the compensation has since been taken.

         7. Mr. Laud has, however, submitted that the story given
    in Ex.59 was supported by the evidence of PW9 Vithalbhai and
F   PW10 Wankar Devendrabhai. We find this assertion without
    any basis. PW was declared hostile as he disowned the
    statement made under Section 161 of the Cr.P.C. whereas
    PW10 had nothing whatsoever to say about the incident.

G        8. The High Court has been at pains to emphasize that the
    two letters Exs.22 and 31 being of signal importance completed
    the prosecution's case against the appellant. Ex.22 is an
    undated letter written by the appellant to the deceased whereas
    Ex.31 is a letter written by the deceased to the appellant. It is
    the case of both parties that they are indeed written in the hands
H   of the appellant and the deceased. Ex.22 reads as under:
  MUKESHBHAI GOPALBHAI BAROT v. STATE OF                        643
                GUJARAT
    "Do tell me and Vasu to stay at your house during Sunday A
    night otherwise I will come on Sunday night or early
    morning on Monday and will create a problem. Today the
    Doctor was to come and you were knowing about it and
    therefore, you stayed back at home and made me a fool.
    After Master left for service, you both had met. Now B
    onwards the Doctor must not come at your house. Do
    come to office on Monday. So lovingly you were talking
    with the Doctor. I will create a problem. I am not bothered
    even if my relationship breaks but, I will disclose the truth
    to Master."                                                   c
It bears explanation that 'Vasu' is the appellant's wife whereas
'Master' is the husband of the deceased. The letter Ex.31 which
is on an inland letter card dated 15th February 1992 is
reproduced below:
                                                                      D
    Maheshbhai Gopalbhai Barot
    Hodi Chakla Barot Vas
    Nandlal Chowk
    Kaloi
    North Gujarat
                                                                      E
    District Mehasama
         Shri Mukeshbhai, Vasu, all and mother-father must
    be happy and I pray accordingly.

            Kamlaben Parmar writing from Vamaj village blesses
      you all. This is for Mukeshbhai to know that, I have become F
   ., so helpless before you that I cannot even ask for your
                                         .     .        ••   If - ~

      pardon personally, therefore I am writing this letter and
      begging your pardon. Because, today because of me you
      and Master had hurt feelings. What vou have done for me
      perhaps a real brother also may not do. When you G
      suddenly came to my house then seeing me and
      Mohmmed Shaikh (Valisan) and hearing our conversation
      and from our conduct you had become suspicious, in this
      regard I had confessed before you on the same day, that
      is my relationship with Mohmed and Mohmed had said that H
    644      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                    [2010] 9 S.C.R.


A         my brother-in-law Dr. Hemu Vaghela (Valrao) I had illicit
          relations with both these persons, and he had immoral
          relations with me two to three times. You had said that do
          what you please, from today our relationship of brother-
          sister is over. At that time I had given you promise that I
B         will not have any relations with any of these two, and I will
          not allow them to enter into my house, and on finding the
          time and occasion I will confess this to Master. At that
          time you had agreed to have and continue the
          relationship of brother-sister, and if after this day if these
c         persons come to my house then you will inform Master,
          therefore I had said yes, and secondly when you came
          to know that the Solanki of Kaloi had immoral
          relationship with me at Kadi Government Guest House.
          At that time I had only informed you that yes Master and
D         Solanki had home relations, therefore since I was in need
          of money I had demanded and I had gone to get the money
          on my own, at that time he had cheated me and called me
          to the Government Guest House and gave the money and
          forcibly took advantage of my helplessness and informed
          others, at that time I had only told you not to call Solanki
E
          hereafter, and I will also not call him, at that time you
          became calmed. But, on Tuesday you and Solanki
          suddenly met in the bus and when he had called me that
          you had become annoyed and informed the entire
          incidence to Master but you had not seen the time and
F         circumstances, therefore Master was annoyed so you keep
          patient and peaceful. When the truth is understood by you
          then he will call you and please pardon me, and if you
          do not pardon then if you do not keep relations with me
          then I will commit suicide and die.
G
                                                   Written by, Yours,
                                                Kamlaben M. Parmar
                                               Vamaj, Date : 15/2/92
      9. A cumulative reading of these two documents far from
H showing any illicit relationship between the appellant and the
  MUKESHBHAI GOPALBHAI BAROT v. STATE OF                 645
                GUJARAT
deceased, shows a close family relationship. In Ex.31 the A
deceased refers to the appellant as her brother and also fondly
says "what you have done for me perhaps a real brother may
not do". This document also indicates that the deceased was
involved in several relationships and when this document is
read in the context of Ex.22 it becomes clear that the appellant B
had been advising the deceased to desist from her activities
and in case she d'id not do so he would reveal all to "master"
i.e. her husband. To our mind, therefore, these documents do
not, in any way, advance the case of the prosecution and on
the contrary they indicate that the allegation of an attempted c
rape of the deceased, whom he regarded as his sister, was a
story created long after the incident by PW7 in order to take
compensation. The finding of the High Court, therefore, that the
appellant's conduct in dousing the flames, and rushing her to
hospital in a commandered Jeep, was a subterfuge in order
                                                                 0
to allay suspicion away from him, does not appear to be correct.
On the contrary, it is indicative of a person trying desperately
to save someone he cared for.

     10. Mr. Laud has however, pointed out that a reading of
the (Panchnama) Ex.38 along with the statement of Dr.Vijay      E
PW18, and the post-mortem report would support the view that
the story that the appellant had pnured kerosene oil and then
set her on alight was borne out.

     11. We have examined the statement of the Doctor. He F
had found several injuries on the dead body, mostly on the front
of the body which could be caused if kerosene oil had been
sprinkled on the person and then set alight. He was, however,
forced to admit that he had not recorded any such fact in the
post-mortem report and further clarified in cross-examination G
that he had not observed any smell of kerosene oil and further
that if there was indeed a smell from the body, he would have
recorded such fact in the Post-Mortem Report. In the light of
this statement of the Doctor, the Panchnama looses much of
its significance. Concededly in this document there is a H
    646      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2010) 9 S.C.R.


A   reference to the fact that there was a smell of kerosene on the
    burnt saree as well as on the carpet in the room. It also noted
    the presence of a tin with some kerosene oil in it and a primus
    stove with the cap of the oil receptacle lying open. This
    document to our mind in no way advances the prosecution story
B   as it is more compatible with the version of accidental death
    than homicide and explains the sudden flare up of the oil. In the
    light of the discussion above, we find absolutely no evidence
    of homicide in this case. We must, accordingly, endorse the
    findings of the trial court that the deceased suffered an
c   accidental death.

          12. Before parting with the judgment, we must re-
    administer an oft repeated caution. It has repeatedly been held
    that interference by the High Court in an appeal against acquittal
    should be minimal and only in cases where the trial court
D   judgment is perverse or does not flow from the evidence. We
    must record that the judgment of the High Court has completely
    ignored this basic principle. The judgment of the Additional
    Sessions Judge based on a correct appreciation of the
    evidence, was completely in accordance with law. This did not
E   warrant interference by the High Court. We, accordingly allow
    this appeal, set aside the judgment of the High Court, and order
    the appellant's acquittal.

    R.P.                                            Appeal allowed.