MANOJ SURYAVANSHI Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order dated 08.08.2013 passed by the Division Bench of the High Court of Chhatisgarh at Bilaspur in Criminal Appeal No. 550 of 2013 and Criminal Reference No. 05 of 2013, by which the Division Bench of the High Court has dismissed the said appeal preferred by the appellant-original accused and has confirmed the judgment and order of conviction and death sentence awarded by the learned Trial Court for the offences punishable under Section 302 of the IPC for having killed the three minor children of the complainant Shivlal - P.W.18 and also for the offences punishable under Section 364 of the IPC, the original accused has preferred the present appeal.

(3.) As per the case of the prosecution, at 7.00 AM on 11.02.2011, two sons of one Shivlal-original complainant - Vijay aged about 8 years, Ajay aged about 6 years and Kumari Sakshi aged about 4 years left their home in Darripara to attend the school at Karaihapara and reached the school. On the school getting over at 11.30 AM, the three minors left the school for home on foot. When they did not reach home, Shivlal-P.W.18 looked for the children in the vicinity and went to school and enquired about the children. On enquiry at the school, the teachers of the minor children told Shivlal that the three minors had come to the school and on the school getting over they had left the school for home on foot. That, thereafter Shivlal and others looked for the three minors. On not finding the three minor children, Shivlal-P.W.18 went to the police station, Raipur and lodged the Missing Person Report. The missing person report was registered in the Daily Journal (Ex. P-18) by the Head Constable Krishna Kumar Koshle-P.W.17. During the search of three minor children, one Ashok Patel-P.W.8 stated that he had seen the minor children along with the appellant-accused near the school. As per the case of the prosecution, on 11.02.2011, Rameshwar-P.W.11 contacted the accused on cell-phone and talked with him and the accused asked Shivlal-P.W.18 how he was feeling when his children are missing. According to the prosecution, the accused was working as labourer in the house of Shivlal. It was alleged that the wife of the accused, namely Sumrit Bai, eloped with the younger brother of the complainant, namely Shivnath Dhiwar and with the view to take revenge, the appellant abducted the minors and thereafter killed them. The FIR-Ex.24 was lodged against the accused initially for the offences under Sections 363 and 364 IPC. According to the prosecution, after the FIR was lodged, the accused was contacted on his mobile no. 9179484724. The accused received the call and told that he was 60 kms away. The Investigating Officer-P.W.24 asked the Head Constable Hemant Aditya, Crime Branch to trace the said mobile number and to tell its location. Then the Head Constable Hemant Aditya traced the location of the said mobile and the location was found near Village Lakhram. That, thereafter the Investigating team went to the house of one Ashok Kumar Madhukar-P.W.13, a relative of the accused. Initially, the accused was not in home. However, thereafter continuing the search, they again went to the house of the said Ashok Kumar Madhukar. According to the case of the prosecution, thereafter the accused was found and brought to the police station. He was interrogated in the presence of the witnesses. A memorandum of statement Ex.P.2 was recorded under Section 20 of the Evidence Act. On the basis of the memorandum Ex.P.2 and at the instance of the accused, in the barren land in Karaihapara - in the field of one Damodar Beldar, the dead bodies of the three minors were recovered from the spot of site. The Investigating Officer collected the incriminating materials during the course of the investigation. The mobile of the accused was also seized. The Investigating Officer conducted the Panchnama of the dead bodies of the three minors. The dead bodies were sent for post-mortem. One Dr. A.M. Srivastava- P.W.23 conducted the post-mortem. The cause of death of the three minors was strangulation and the deaths were found to be homicidal. During the investigation, the Investigating Officer received the call details - Ex.P.30 of the mobile phone of the accused. During the investigation, the Investigating Officer recorded the statement of the witnesses, including the statement of the original complainant Shivlal and others. That the accused was arrested as per the memorandum dated 13.02.2011. After conclusion of the investigation, it was found that the accused had first abducted and thereafter killed the three minors to take the revenge as his wife eloped with the brother of the complainant Shivlal and thereby committing the offences punishable under Section 302 and Section 364 IPC. The Investigating Officer filed the charge-sheet against the accused for the aforesaid offences. The case was committed to the Court of Sessions. The accused pleaded not guilty and therefore he came to be tried for the aforesaid offences.