A bench of justices BS Chauhan and Dipak Misra quashed the order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court which had acquitted the trio on the ground that the dying declaration cannot be relied upon as she suffered 100 percent burns and was not in a fit condition to make a statement.

"The requirement of a certificate provided by a doctor in respect of such state of the deceased is not essential in every case. Undoubtedly, the subject of the evidentiary value and acceptability of a dying declaration must be approached with caution for the reason that the maker of such a statement cannot be subjected to cross-examination.