dated 23.07.2008, the trial court had convicted the appellant for committing an offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) and sentenced to suffer life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs. 25,000/- with a default stipulation. The appeal filed by the appellant against the aforesaid conviction and sentence was dismissed by the High Court. 3. The prosecution case in brief is that wife of the appellant Rekha was a police constable and lived in the police colony at Ambajogai. Her husband i.e. the appellant was serving in the army. He had come home on leave. 3.1. On 22.07.2002, at about 08:30 PM, Rekha had sustained burn injuries in the quarter where she was residing. According to the prosecution, she was subjected to cruelty by her husband Rajendra and brother-in-law Suresh. She was also subjected to sustained cruelty at the hands of her other in-laws including father-in-law, mother-in-law and sister-in-law. On the fateful day, Rekha was