VITHAL Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated June 25, 1984 passed by the Bombay High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 286 of 1980 whereby it affirmed the conviction and sentence recorded against the four appellants under S.302/34 of the IPC by the Sessions Judge, Bhandara.

(2.) According to the prosecution case in the night between October 15/16, 1984 Antiram met with his death at the hands of his sons by his first wife (appellants Nos. 1 and 2 herein) and two sons of her brother (the other two appellants). The motive ascribed for the killing was that the deceased and his first wife, whom he had deserted some 10/12 years back, were fighting for long over the ownership of the house in which the murder took place.

(3.) In proving the charges levelled against the appellants, the prosecution rested its case principally upon the ocular version of the incident as given out by Bhivarabai (P.W.21) the mother of the deceased and Suresh (PW.22), a son of the sister of Antiram, who at the material time was 8 years old. Though the trial Court relied upon the evidence of both the witnesses to find the appellants guilty, the High Court found it unsafe to rely upon the child witness in view of obvious reservations in that regard and certain major contradictions in his evidence vis-a-vis his statement recorded under S.161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The High Court, however, found PW.21 was transparently honest and narrated the events in a truthful manner. In drawing the above conclusion the High Court observed:-