SHYAM KALI DUBEY Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant along with her husband was convicted for an offence under Sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860[the 'IPC'] and sentenced to life imprisonment. The allegation was that the couple beat the deceased with sticks/lathi/danda in the premises of a temple and the victim succumbed to the injuries sustained. The motive was said to be an altercation that occurred in the afternoon when the appellant attempted to graze her cattle in the field of the deceased. The objection of the deceased regarding the land having not been harvested was ignored, upon which the deceased pushed the appellant ,who fell down and then took a stick from her son and beat the deceased, twice on his leg. The appellant's son and mother-in-law took her away from the scene of occurrence upon which the appellant warned the deceased that she will come back with her husband. The threat levelled was then executed, which led to the death of the victim.

(2.) The case of the prosecution that the death was homicidal has been clearly established by way of evidence of PW-6, the Doctor. PW-6 spoke of 13 injuries on the body of the deceased and opined that the death was due to acute circulatory failure and asphyxia, due to regurgitation of blood in bronchus and trachea. Death was also opined to be due to the head injury caused by a hard and blunt object.

(3.) In cross-examination, PW-6 stated that the autopsy was conducted at 4 in the evening of 24/3/1999 and the death could have been caused between 10 to 12 in the night i.e. the night of 23/3/1999. We specifically noticed this since the incident, as the prosecution alleges in front of a number of eyewitnesses, was stated to be at 7 O'clock in the night.