Criminal miscarriage without consent proved, but death link failed; conviction reduced from graver offence to lesser offence.

Criminal miscarriage without consent was proved through the deceased's son and supporting medical evidence, but the prosecution did not establish beyond doubt that the deceased's death was caused by the abortion. The post-mortem certificate was admissible and properly proved, yet the evidence was insufficient to link the shock, peritonitis and abdominal wound to the criminal abortion, so the deceased's statement could not operate as a dying declaration for that purpose. Conviction under Section 314 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code could not stand, but the evidence justified conviction under Section 313 read with Section 34, with corresponding reduction of sentence.

---

---

Issues: Whether the prosecution proved that the accused caused criminal miscarriage without consent and whether the deceased's death was proved to be the result of that miscarriage, so as to sustain conviction under Section 314 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

Analysis: The evidence of the son of the deceased, supported by medical evidence, established that the accused induced and carried out a criminal abortion without the deceased's consent. The court also considered the proof and admissibility of the post-mortem certificate and the deceased's statement. While the post-mortem certificate was admissible and properly proved through evidence satisfying the requirements for proving a document containing the statement of a doctor who was unavailable, the prosecution failed to establish with certainty that the shock due to peritonitis and the abdominal wound were caused by the criminal abortion. In the absence of clear proof linking the death to the abortion, the deceased's statement could not be treated as a dying declaration for that purpose.

Conclusion: The conviction under Section 314 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code could not be sustained, but the evidence justified conviction for causing criminal miscarriage under Section 313 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

Final Conclusion: The revision succeeded only to the extent of altering the conviction from the graver offence to the lesser offence and reducing the sentences imposed on both accused.

Ratio Decidendi: Where criminal miscarriage is proved but the prosecution fails to prove beyond doubt that the victim's death resulted from that miscarriage, conviction may be altered from the offence requiring death-causing abortion to the offence of causing miscarriage without consent, with sentence adjusted accordingly.

---