RAJ KUMAR Vs. STATE OF M P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant herein was convicted under Section 304 Part II, I.P.C. and sentenced to suffer imprisonment for ten years and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000. THE High Court reversed the order of acquittal of the Additional Sessions Judge, Shivpuri in Sessions Case No. 90 of 1986 in which charges were framed against the appellant under Sections 302 and 498A of I.P.C. THE appellant was charged of committing the murder of his wife Kalpana on 23.5.1986 at about 2.00 p.m. at his house. THE appellant married Kalpana in May, 1985. At the time of the incident which took place a year later, she was in the advanced stage of pregnancy.

(2.) THE accused Raj Kumar and his brother Shyamlal (P.W. 15) were residing in the same building. Adjacent to this building, their elder brother Keshav Prasad Agrawal (P.W. 17) was residing. THE accused Raj Kumar was occupying the third floor. It was in the bed room of the accused that his wife was brutally attacked.

(3.) THE brother of the deceased (P.W. 1) lodged the report to the police at 3.00 p.m. and the F.I.R. was registered on that basis. In the report, he stated that at about 2.00 p.m. he got information from P.W. 2, with whom he was employed, that his brother-in-law Raj Kumar had beaten his sister and her condition was serious and that she was taken to hospital. He added that at the hospital also, he came to know through others that the accused had beaten his sister. Thus, he clearly incriminated the accused in the report given to the police. THEn the investigation was started by P.W. 21. He had called P.W. 10-the Scientific Assistant, who prepared site plan and inspection notes, according to which there were extensive blood-stains on walls, clothes, table and mongri. P.W. 21 seized the wooden mongri and the other blood-stained articles found inside the room which was the scene of offence. As seen from Ext. P. 8, the wooden piece ('mongri', used while washing clothes) is of the length of one foot and width of three inches. P.W. 21 arrested the accused on the next day, i.e. on 24.5.1986 and at the instance of the accused an iron pipe of the length of two feet, round in shape at one side and flat at another side was seized from the bath room. It was noted in the seizure memo (Ext. P. 19) that blood was present at the flat side of the seized iron pipe. Though P.W. 21 stated in his deposition that iron rod and wooden piece were seized at the same time, it is clear from Ext. P. 19 and P. 8-seizure memos, that only the iron pipe was seized after the arrest of the accused. On the same day, the Investigating Officer (P.W. 21) having found traces of blood on the body of the accused, took the accused to Forensic Science Laboratory's mobile unit and the dry blood scrapings were collected by the in-charge of the mobile unit (P.W. 10). It may be mentioned at this stage that the reports of F.S.L. in regard to seized articles, etc., have not been produced for reasons best known to the prosecution. THE Investigating Officer also recorded the statements of various witnesses including P.W. 17-Keshave Prasad (the elder brother of the accused) and P.Ws. 2, 5, 13, 15 and others. Surprisingly, the younger sister of the deceased (P.W. 8), who allegedly came to the house in the morning of 23.5.1986 and met the deceased and accused, and her mother were examined about ten days later. In fact, P.W. 8 denied that she ever gave the statement to police. THE accused, in the course of his examination under Section 313 either answered the questions in the negative or made bare denial. THEre was no eye-witness to the incident.