GAYADIN Vs. STATE OF M P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this appeal by special leave the order of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior dated 23.9.2003 in Criminal Appeal No. 175 of 1989 has been impugned.

(2.) The Appellant Gayadin was tried by the court of IInd Additional Sessions Judge, Gwalior alongwith two other accused persons. The charge against the Appellant was under Section 302, I.P.C. The second accused Baijnath was the father of the Appellant and the third accused was the brother of the accused. They were charged of the offence punishable under Section 201, I.P.C. The Sessions Judge acquitted all of them. Aggrieved by the same, the State preferred an appeal before the High Court and the Division Bench of the High Court was pleased to reverse the acquittal of the present Appellant and found him guilty of offence punishable under Section 302, I.P.C. for having caused the death of his wife Kasturi Bai. The conviction and sentence against the Appellant is challenged before us.

(3.) The marriage between the Appellant and deceased Kasturi Bai took place at about 4/5 years prior to the incident. The prosecution alleged that the accused used to torture the deceased and there were frequent quarrels between the Appellant and the deceased and on 18.1.1985 at about 8.30 p.m. P.W. 12 Keshav Singh and P.W. 10 Lal Shah had gone to the house of the Appellant to ascertain whether he was available for doing some labour work on the next day. These two witnesses saw the deceased Kasturi Bai lying on a carpet inside the house and she was weeping. The Appellant Gayadin told the witnesses that he was not willing to come up for work as he was mentally upset. The witnesses were told by Kasturi Bai that she was beaten by the Appellant. On the next day P.W. 13 came to know that Kasturi Bai had died and he went to the nearby police station and lodged an F.I.R. statement. Head Constable Nawab Singh (P.W. 17) went to the place of incident and he saw a funeral pyre being set up for cremating the dead body of deceased Kasturi Bai. On seeing the police, the persons who were assembled there left the place and P.W. 17 took the dead body from the pyre. He sent the dead body for post-mortem examination and P.W. 16 Dr. D. S. Badkur conducted the post-mortem examination and found that there were series of serious injuries on the body of the deceased Kasturi Bai. There were marks of violence on the neck and a contusion on the right side of the neck. The doctor also noticed a ligature mark and the presence of clotting of blood. There was also a stab wound of 32 12 cm. of spandle (sic) nature on the abdomen and it was opined as an injury caused after the death.