75-year-old Jamnaben Mange sentenced to life imprisonment for killing her daughter-in-law, Daksha, by setting her on fire, with key testimony from her 15-year-old granddaughter | Representational Image
Mumbai: The unwavering testimony of 15-year-old Sonal (name changed) has led to the conviction of a 75-year-old woman who killed her daughter-in-law by setting her ablaze. In its judgment, the court held that Sonal’s statement was confident and provided answers to every question, sufficient to establish the guilt of the accused.
The court, presided over by Judge D.S. Deshmukh, sentenced Jamnaben Mange to life imprisonment under stringent murder charges and directed her to pay R 50,000 as compensation for the crime.
The case dates back to April 2019 when Daksha Mange, who was living away from her matrimonial home, visited her in-laws’ house along with her daughter Sonal to collect documents for Sonal’s school admission. On April 13, 2019, Daksha entered the house and got into a verbal feud with her mother-in-law, Jamnaben, which escalated. Jamnaben reportedly bolted the room, dragged Daksha into the kitchen, poured kerosene over her, and set her on fire by lighting a matchstick.
Realizing the gravity of her actions as Daksha burned, Jamnaben attempted to extinguish the flames by pouring water, but her efforts failed. The entire incident was witnessed by Sonal, who was 10 years old at the time and later became the key eyewitness in the case.
The police further relied on Daksha’s dying declaration, in which she testified against Jamnaben. Defense advocate Mangesh Aarote had opposed the prosecution’s case, arguing that Sonal’s testimony contained discrepancies. He also raised concerns about the dying declaration, stating:
“The failure of the police to video record Daksha’s dying declaration points to faulty investigation. We are planning to appeal this judgment in the High Court on the merits of the case, highlighting the prosecution’s loopholes.”
While delivering its judgment, the court held that Sonal’s testimony-that Jamnaben poured kerosene on Daksha and set her on fire-was sufficient to prove the accused’s guilt.
The court also considered Daksha’s dying declaration, in which she detailed her strained relationship with Jamnaben. Daksha stated that three months before the incident, Jamnaben had driven her out of the house, forcing her to live with her parents. On the day of the incident, when Daksha returned to her in-laws’ home at Raghunath Nagar, Jamnaben forcibly took her into the kitchen, poured kerosene over her, ignited a matchstick, and set her on fire.
While sustaining severe burn injuries, Daksha was taken to the hospital by neighbors. Despite suffering 90% burns, the court noted that medical professionals confirmed she was in a fit state of mind to give her dying declaration.
“The fact that Daksha suffered 90% burns and her general condition was poor is no reason to disregard the testimony of the medical professionals, who confirmed that she was in a fit state of mind and capable of making the dying declaration,” the court stated.
