In Brief
Two appellants were convicted of murder under Section 302 IPC for setting fire to the victim in December 1990. One appellant (Mumtaz) challenged the reliability of the victim's dying declaration and claimed provocation; his appeal was dismissed as the dying declaration was properly recorded and reliable. The second appellant (Dilshad) was found to be 16 years 5 months old on the date of occurrence. Under the Juvenile Justice Act 2000 (which retroactively applied to pending cases), despite his 1994 conviction, his sentence was set aside as he was a juvenile, and the matter was remitted to the Juvenile Justice Board to determine appropriate fine and compensation rather than life imprisonment.
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