GANGADHAR Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal, by grant of special leave, challenges the correctness of the judgment dated 18th June, 2008, passed by the Aurangabad Bench of the High Court of Bombay vide which the High Court has dismissed the appeal of the appellant herein and confirmed the judgment of the Adhoc Additional Sessions Judge, Nanded, Maharashtra, in Sessions Case No. 157 of 2004.

(2.) In the said case, the appellant herein was tried for an offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly causing murder of his wife-Dwarkabai. The Trial Court had held him in guilt of the said offence and sentenced him to suffer life imprisonment with fine of Rs.500/- and in case of non-payment of fine, Simple Imprisonment of three months was also awarded. The High Court has upheld the conviction and the sentence given by the Trial Court.

(3.) Admitted facts which have come on record, which even the appellant does not dispute, are that the appellant was living with his wife-Dwarkabai and parents-in-law in the same house but in the adjacent rooms. At about 1 a.m. on the intervening night of 2-3 September, 2004, the appellant came to the room of his parents-in-law while they were sleeping along with other children. After waking them up, the appellant informed that Dwarkabai had fallen down from the cot on an instrument known as ' Wakas', ordinarily used by carpenters, and as a result whereof, she has suffered head injury. His in-laws believed the story and Dwarkabai was taken in a rickshaw to the Rural Hospital, Bhokar, where she was given primary aid and was advised to be taken to Government Civil Hospital, Nanded. She was taken to that Hospital where she succumbed to the injuries at about 6 a.m. Post-mortem on the body of the deceased was conducted and thereafter her body was handed over to the appellant and her parents. It was cremated at 6 p.m. in the evening. Immediately after the cremation, parents of the deceased suspected foul play as according to them, the deceased was maltreated by the appellant and, therefore, it might not be an accidental case. Father of the deceased lodged complaint in this behalf with the police at about 11 p.m. on the same day. FIR was registered, matter was investigated and thereafter, challan was filed in the Court and the appellant was tried and convicted, as narrated above.