ORDER (Per M.F. Saldanha, J.) 1. This is yet one more of those gory and ghastly cases of bride-burning that has come up before the Court and ironically enough one more of the series of cases where it has ended in an acquittal. 2. In this instance, the deceased Kalpana had sustained 100% bums and was brought to the hospital on the morning of 23-1-1991 in a serious condition. It was alleged that this was one more of the cases where cash of Rs.13,000-00 had been paid apart from 4 grams of gold ornaments when the marriage took place on 21-5-1990 and the husband as also his sister and mother are alleged to have been torturing her to bring another Rs.10,000-00 as and by way of additional dowry. Kalpana alleged that when she had gone into the bath room to light the oven, that the accused poured kerosene oil on her through the window as a result of which her clothes caught fire and she further alleges that they held on to the door tightly so that she could not even run and save herself though she screamed loudly. It was reported to the authorities that it was a case of accidental bums while cooking. Kalpana's mother was informed about the incident and she arrived at the hospital early the next morning. Kalpana's condition was bad and the Investigation Officer recorded her dying declaration on 25-1-1991. Her condition deteriorated and she died on 27-1-1991. The police, principally on the basis of the complaint from Kalpana's mother who stated that her daughter was being tortured with the intention of extorting more dowry, arrested the husband, his sister and his mother and on completion of the investigation they were charge-sheeted and put up for trial before the Court of Sessions. We need to mention here that there is some evidence from two-of the neighbours but this does not assist the prosecution very much because they seem to have suggested that the relationship between the parties was good, in any event these two witnesses were hostile. The mother has very clearly alleged that the accused were not satisfied with the dowry received by them and that they had tortured her daughter and she also stated that her daughter had clearly told her that it was the accused who had set her on fire after pouring kerosene oil on her clothes. The mother has very clearly alleged that the accused were not satisfied with the dowry received by them and that they had tortured her daughter and she also stated that her daughter had clearly told her that it was the accused who had set her on fire after pouring kerosene oil on her clothes. The strongest piece of evidence in the case is the dying declaration in which Kalpana has very clearly stated that the accused poured kerosene oil on her through the window when she was seated in the bath room and was lighting the oven. The doctors who have treated Kalpana have also given evidence in this case and we shall refer to it at a subsequent stage because that evidence is very crucial. The learned trial Judge after assessing the evidence very carefully has acquitted the accused on the ground that the charges could not be substantiated and the State of Karnataka has assailed the correctness of the order of acquittal through the present appeal. We need to observe in passing, that it is more necessary to ensure that the investigation and the conduct of the case is done at a highly professional and honest level particularly in these categories of anti-social offences and that when the case fails for want of evidence of the requisite quality and for want of proper conduct and presentation of the case, it is of little consequence that the State tries to undo the damage merely by filing appeals against the acquittals. Where the record has been deficient or where the record is in a disastrous condition before the lower Court, there is very little that even the most competent prosecutor can do in the High Court. It would be desirable if this aspect of the matter is seriously borne in mind by the Government if at all serious about women's welfare. 3. Mr. Koti, learned Additional SPP has done a valiant job in a very determined manner, and a very strong effort was made to convince the Court that the dying declaration recorded in this case must be relied upon. He has started by referring to the law on the point and demonstrating to us that it is now well crystalised law that a conviction in a case of his category can rest solely on dying declaration, learned Addl. He has started by referring to the law on the point and demonstrating to us that it is now well crystalised law that a conviction in a case of his category can rest solely on dying declaration, learned Addl. SPP is right as far as his submission is concerned, but we need sound a word of caution insofar as in such situation where liberty of the accused is at stake, that a Court will be extremely rigorous while ensuring the tests of absolute scrutiny. In this regard, Mr. Koti, learned Addl. SPP has demonstrated to us that the Investigating Officer has very clearly established hat the dying declaration of Kalpana was recorded on 25-1-1991 and that he had requested the doctor to give him permission for this purpose. He also relies on the evidence of P.W.3 Dr. B.P. Vishwananth who has deposed to the fact that he did put some questions to the deceased and that he was satisfied that she was conscious and in a position to make a statement. Mr. Koti points out to us that the doctor's evidence has gone unchallenged and that this evidence provides the requisite certificate that a Court would insist upon before a dying declaration can be accepted. The reason for this argument is because P.W.3 instead of certifying on the dying declaration that the patient is conscious and that the patient is in a position to make a proper statement, has on the other hand only written the words before me. In other words, he has ratified the fact that the statement was recorded in his presence. Mr. Koti submitted that in situations such as this, the Court should not be extremely rigorious and that the Court should accept the evidence of the doctor as supplementing the validity of the dying declaration. He further points out that the Investigating Officer has very clearly indicated that the dying declaration was recorded by him and nobody else was present at that time and Mr. Koti further emphasised the fact that the dying declaration implicates all the three accused in no uncertain terms. He submits that these heads of evidence are more than sufficient to record convictions under all the charges that were framed against the accused and that the acquittal order is liable to be straightaway set aside. Koti further emphasised the fact that the dying declaration implicates all the three accused in no uncertain terms. He submits that these heads of evidence are more than sufficient to record convictions under all the charges that were framed against the accused and that the acquittal order is liable to be straightaway set aside. The respondents learned Advocate drew our attention to a Division Bench decision of the Bombay High Court, Vithal Sadashiv Gaikwad vs. State of Maharashtra 1994 (2) Crl.L.J. 2035, to which judgment one of us (Saldanha, J.) was a party. The Division Bench has very clearly laid down that it is absolutely essential that the dying declaration must bear a certificate, that the maker of that statement was not only fully conscious but that the person was in a mentally fit condition to make the statement. This pre-supposes the fact that the physical condition of the patient has been assessed and that more importantly, the mental condition of the patient has been very carefully examined by the doctor. We clarify here that this would involve a study of over-all conditions of the patient and a verification of the mental condition of the patient viz., as to whether the patient's faculties are working and above all, as to what is the mental condition of the patient in relation to the levels of pain and most importantly the after effects of various drugs and medications that have been administered. Where the injuries are serious or for that matter in burning cases where the levels of pain would be excruciating, the doctors concerned will have to take into account the physical and mental shock and trauma which the person has undergone the capacity of the person to bear up with, all these factors, the effect of pain killers, tranquilisers and other drugs that may have been given, the effect of injury such as loss of blood etc., and having regard to all these, whether the patient is in a position to clearly and logically recall, recreate and reproduce the incident and to give cogent and correct answers to the questions put by the person recording the dying declaration. One of the reasons why the Courts have preferred that a dying declaration must be as far as possible recorded in question and answer form and in the language best known to the maker of the statement is because the Court desire that it should be as far as possible a perfect and true record of what has been pointed out. 4. In this background, Mr. Koti took us through the evidence of the doctors and he was at pains to point out that Kalpana was conscious when she was brought to the hospital and that even though her condition was reported to be poor, that evidence indicates that she was in a position to make a statement on 25-1-1991. Learned Counsel submits that the doctor had no special interest in the case and that therefore, he would not make any false statements to favour either of the sides. His submission is that the non-certification on the dying declaration is curable provided the evidence of the doctor is found to be absolutely reliable and trustworthy. As regards this submission, we need to reiterate that the maker of a dying declaration is not available for cross-examination and that consequently the Courts will have to insist upon a very high level of procedural strictness in these matters with regard to which there can be no compromise. If the submission canvassed by Mr. Koti were to be upheld, it would mean that the doctor who has not certified the condition of the patient contemporaneously when the statement was recorded as going to be allowed to draw on memory or by reference to the records several years later and certify with regard to the condition of the patient. In our considered view, allowing this to be done, would be highly risky because even if the doctor is acting in a good faith, the possibility of an error is extremely high. The law insists that the doctor must certify on the spot and if this is not done, it would be virtually fatal. We have earlier indicated many factors which are required to be taken into account while issuing a certificate of this type and in this background, we cannot condone the lapse of the present type and allow the dying declaration to virtually form the basis for a conviction when the dying declaration suffers from a serious infirmity. 5. Mr. We have earlier indicated many factors which are required to be taken into account while issuing a certificate of this type and in this background, we cannot condone the lapse of the present type and allow the dying declaration to virtually form the basis for a conviction when the dying declaration suffers from a serious infirmity. 5. Mr. Koti sought to get over the fact that the dying declaration in question is not signed by Kalpana nor has her thumb impression been affixed to it which aspects were high-lighted by the respondents learned Counsel. According to Mr. Koti, the medical papers, indicate that Kalpana has sustained 100% bums and he submits that the Court must take judicial notice of the fact that in this class of cases where the person struggles to save herself, that the hands and particularly the palms are the worst affected and he also relies on the evidence of the doctor P.W.10 and the Investigating Officer both of whom have stated that Kalpana informed them that she could not sign. The fact that Kalpana's condition was bad and that she could not sign, is an entirely different aspect but again, this ought to have been certified and her thumb impression ought to have been taken, if that was possible. Assuming Mr. Koti is right when he points out that Kalpana's hands were burnt and that no thumb impression was feasible, this fact ought to have been recorded somewhere because it has not come out even in the evidence of the witnesses. This is a glaring omission and it would render the acceptance of the dying declaration extremely unsafe. We record one additional reason viz., that in the dying declaration itself between pages 1 and 2 Kalpana has first implicated A-1 and then implicated A-2 as the persons who poured kerosene oil on her. This is one more ground on which we find it difficult to rely on the dying declaration in question. There is one more circumstance which the learned trial Judge has taken into account in this regard but he points out that whereas both Kalpana and her mother insist on the version that kerosene oil was poured on Kalpana's clothes, that there is no reference any where to the presence either of kerosene oil or even to the smell of kerosene oil. Mr. Mr. Koti submitted that since Kalpana was locked in the room until she was C completely burnt, that it fully explains why all traces of kerosene oil had vanished since it is combustible and nothing was left. It is rather difficult to accept the version because a patient who has undergone bums as a result of kerosene oil would certainly have been emitting a very strong smell of kerosene oil when she was brought to the hospital immediately thereof. This aspect of the matter does cast a doubt with regard to the correctness of the version. 6. The evidence of the mother which Mr.Koti ask us to place strong reliance on is in turn based on what her daughter informed her. The medical papers indicate that Kalpana who had sustained 100% bums was in what the doctors described as a poor condition and consequently, it would be hazardous to place reliance on what she is supposed to have stated to her mother. In any event, if the dying declaration cannot be relied on the evidence of the mother is all that remains in the case and having regard to its character and over-all quality, it cannot be used as the basis for recording a conviction. It is essential in this background to emphasize that, despite a valuable life having been lost in a gruesome and horrifying case of burning of a young woman, we find, ourselves virtually helpless because the record cannot justify a conviction. 7. What is disturbing is that in a series of cases relating to sexual attacks against women and in cases of dowry deaths, wife burning etc., the prosecution has not been able to establish the charge and there has been virtual failure of justice, because of the medical evidence having let down the entire case. This is one more classic instance where that has happened and we do not propose to allow the state of affairs to continue unchecked. This is one more classic instance where that has happened and we do not propose to allow the state of affairs to continue unchecked. We therefore desire to lay down very explicitly as to what are the specific duties of the doctors in cases relating to dying declaration and we would desire that the Director of Health Services specifically relays/trough a circular to all the doctors in the Government hospitals all over the State at all levels, the fact that the High Court has taken a serious view of what has been happening in this class of cases and that they shall remedy scrupulously and professionally attend to their duties in the manner ask expected of them as otherwise the Courts will be left with no option except to take action against the individuals concerned. The guidelines are summarised as follows: (1) That in all cases relating to atrocities against women of all ages, doctors attending right from the earliest point of time shall ensure that a clear and correct record is maintained of the condition in which the patient was brought to the hospital by whom and the patients earliest statement, this shall be after conducting a proper meticulous clinical examination. In those of the cases, where specimens are required to be preserved such as the clothes on which stains may be there but more importantly medical specimens such as hair clippings, vaginal smear and the like, these shall be taken charge of and properly preserved under an inventory. The manner in which they are preserved and the manner in which they are transmitted will make a lot of difference to the medico legal aspects of the case and the doctors shall pay special attention to these aspects, be that the case papers shall be completely and carefully made out setting out all necessary details and signed and initialled wherever necessary by the doctor concerned. Steps shall also be taken to ensure that no alterations are made in the case papers and that they are maintained free from any possibility of tampering. (2) As far as the dying declarations are concerned, the doctor shall ensure that the dying declaration is recorded at the earliest point of time. Steps shall also be taken to ensure that no alterations are made in the case papers and that they are maintained free from any possibility of tampering. (2) As far as the dying declarations are concerned, the doctor shall ensure that the dying declaration is recorded at the earliest point of time. This is necessary because with the passage of time there is a possibility that the memory would fail and in the case of a person who is in a precarious condition, the situation would only worsen as time goes on and would become even graver after treatment such as sedation, surgery etc., are undertaken. Also, the doctors shall not over-look the fact that the mental condition of the patient would get drastically altered once pain- killers, tranquilizers and various forms of medications are administered. Where the doctors assesses that the condition of the patient is likely to get worse, it would be desirable, that it be brought to the notice of the investigating authorities that the statement be recorded without any loss of time. (3) That prior to the recording of such a statement, the doctor shall do a thorough and professional assessment of the physical and mental condition of the patient if necessary, through a reference to the case papers and the treatment undertaken and only if the doctor is 100% satisfied that the mental condition of the patient is such that the patient is in possession of all faculties, is in a position to fully comprehend and understand the questions put and is in a position to give the correct .answers to the questions that a certificate shall only then be issued on the dying declaration itself. The doctor shall certify that the patient is conscious and in a fit condition to make a statement and shall sign below that certificate. It shall be equally necessary in those cases where the doctor does not consider the patient to be in a fit condition as stated above to mention this fact if at all any statement has been recorded, but it would be desirable in such cases not to grant permission for the recording of the statement. Also; it would be necessary to record in the case papers the point of time when the dying declaration has been recorded. Also; it would be necessary to record in the case papers the point of time when the dying declaration has been recorded. (4) Having regard to the extreme importance and high evidentiary value of the dying declaration and the fact that any defect in the dying declaration such as in the present case would result in the failure of the prosecution, the Director of Health Services shall impress upon all public doctors that they are discharging an extremely responsible and important task and that they should do so with a total sense, dedication and professionalism and warn them that the Courts will take stem action in the case of any laxity, negligence or dishonesty. 8. Having regard to the state of the record as indicated by us, it would be impossible to rely on the dying declaration in question. We need to add here that the record indicates that Kalpana was pregnant at the time of the incident and that on the morning of 25-1-1991 itself a Gynaecologist had removed the dead foetus from her body and that it was after his operation that the dying declaration was recorded. Having regard to her overall condition coupled with this fact, we find it impossible to accept the evidence of P.W.3 who states in the witness box that she was in a fit condition to make a cogenest statement. In this background, we must, as of necessity confirm the finding recorded by the trial Court, as also the order of acquittal recorded in favour of the accused. 9. The appeal accordingly fails and stands dismissed. The Registrar (Gen.) to forward a copy of this judgment to the Director of Health Services, Karnataka State with a request that the directions in the judgment be complied with, and to report back to this Court.