JAGANNATH Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The 2nd additional sessions judge, yavatmal, Maharashtra found the appellant guilty for having committed the murder of one maroti Shelkar and convicted him for offence punishable under section 302 I PC and sentenced him to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of rs. 250/- and in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 15 days. He also found the appellant guilty of offence punishable under section 323 IPC for having caused injuries on PWs. 4, 5 and 6. However, he did not award any separate punishment in view of the fact that he had imposed life sentence under section 302 ipc.

(2.) This is an out of normal criminal case where the entire prosecution case is based on the abnormal behaviour of the appellant leading to murder. There being no proper identification of the appellant at the time of attack which led to the murder. The prosecution has relied upon a chain of circumstantial evidence which according to it conclusively proves that it is the appellant and the appellant alone who could have committed the murder in question. As stated above, the sessions court as well as the High Court have accepted the circumstantial evidence as being sufficient to convict the appellant.

(3.) The circumstances relied upon by the courts below are as below. The appellant whose past history is not known was found in the village of Darwah on the morning of 10th May, 1993. It is stated that he was collecting contributions from the people for some procession for which collection the receipts were duly executed. His presence at Darwah is almost as good as admitted on the date of incident. It is stated by the prosecution that on the evening of 10th May, 1993 the appellant posing himself to be as CID officer engaged the rickshaw of PW-7 and went towards the farm house of advocate rathod. There it was seen that without any reason he picked up fight with people who met at the farm-house of Mr. Rathod. The peculiar facts to be noticed in this part of the prosecution case is that the appellant had disrobed himself and was naked when he attacked the persons. Subsequent to this attack, it is stated that he also assaulted PW-7 who had taken the appellant to the farm house of Mr. Rathod in his rickshaw. For some reason nobody took any particular notice of this incident but prosecution alleges that later in the evening also this appellant was seen moving around near about the place of incident where the murder took place. It is the further case of the prosecution that at about 4-4.30 a. m. in the early morning of 11th May, 1993 when PWs 4, 5 and 6 along with the deceased were sleeping the said PWs 4, 5 and 6 heard the voice of the deceased maroti Shelkar and woke up to see one naked person assaulting the deceased. These witnesses also state that the said person also assaulted them and caused certain simple injuries and thereafter ran away from the place of incident.