Wife’s Dying Words Key Proof, HC Seals Life Term in 90s Murder

Soumyadip Mullick, MP, 7 July 2025,  Kolkata:  The Calcutta High Court has upheld the conviction and life sentence of one Narayan Adhikary alias Nanu for setting his wife on fire in 1998, dismissing his appeal against the trial court’s verdict.

A Division Bench of Justices Rajarshi Bharadwaj and Apurba Sinha Ray affirmed the judgment and sentence passed in 2008 by the Additional Sessions Judge of a Fast Track Court in Siliguri. The appellant had been convicted under Section 302 of the IPC and sentenced to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 5,000.

The court noted that the key piece of evidence in the case was the dying declaration of the victim, Mina alias Nina Adhikary. The statement was recorded by an Executive Magistrate in the presence of a doctor and alleged that the appellant had set her on fire after pouring kerosene on her body, following a quarrel involving money. The victim, who had been married for six months, died of burn injuries a few days later.

The defense had challenged the conviction citing multiple procedural lapses, including delay in filing the FIR, non-seizure of hospital records, discrepancies in witness statements, and the absence of the victim’s signature or thumb impression on the declaration. It was also claimed that the death was a suicide and that the appellant was not present in the village at the time.

The court found the dying declaration to be coherent and consistent. It accepted the medical certificate indicating the victim was mentally fit to give her statement and noted that the extent of her injuries explained the absence of a signature or thumb impression. The bench rejected claims of tutoring or alternative involvement, and found the defense witness’s alibi unconvincing, as the appellant had been arrested from North Bengal Medical College within days of the incident.

While upholding the conviction, the court observed that the appellant had already spent about 17 years in custody and had no prior criminal record. Referring to a 2022 Supreme Court ruling, the High Court directed that the convict be informed of his right to apply for remission through the appropriate authority.