WAKIL NAYAK Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by special leave from the judgment dated 16 July, 1970, of the High Court at Patna accepting the reference under Section 374 of the Criminal Procedure Code and confirming the sentence of death.

(2.) The appellant was convicted under Section 302 of the Penal Code, 1860 for having committed the murder of Anange Nayak, a boy aged about 10 years and his younger brother Gourange Nayak, aged about 7 years.

(3.) Anange & Gourange were sons of Mossomat Kamila Nayak, widow of Shashi Nayak. The prosecution case was this. Both the brothers disappeared from the house of Kamila on 25 July, 1967 which was a Thrusday. Kamila was a day labourer. When she returned in the evening she did not find her sons in the house. She searched for them in vain. On the following day (Friday) at mid-night she was informed by some villagers named Kartik Patar, Shashidhar Nayak and Chandra that the appellant had staled before them that he had killed the two children. Kamila thereafter went to the house of the appellant in the company of those villagers and enquired from him whether it was a fact that he had killed the two children The appellant admitted that it was a fact that he had killed the two children. The appellant took out a Kulhari from his house and said that that was the weapon with which he had killed the children. The appellant took Kamila and the other villagers to the neighbouring jungle and showed them the dead bodies of the children. Kamila identified the dead bodies as those of her two sons. On Saturday morning a cow herd boy named Rakhal came to the house of Kamila and told her that at mid-day on Thursday while he was grazing the buffaloes in Bana Dungri Jungle he saw the appellant taking the two children to the jungle with a tangi in his hand Thereafter, Kamila proceeded to Musabani Police Outpost along with Ishwar Chandra Nayak and the appellant and two other persons. Kamila gave the first information report at 5 p m. on Saturday, 27 July, 1967. The first information report was recorded by the Assistant Sub Inspector, Jhalakdeo Singh. The appellant was then put in custody.