PAPAN SARKAR @ PRANAB Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The son of the de-facto complainant found missing from the evening of 31/10/2012, turned up dead on the next day in a field, head down with the legs sticking up from a ditch. His three companions of the previous day found drinking and roaming around were rounded up and arrayed as accused. The prosecution went to trial with the circumstances of the last seen together theory, extra-judicial confession, recovery of the objects used as weapons & a motorbike, seizures from the place of occurrence, oral testimonies and the serological report. The trial court convicted the accused and sentenced them, which was confirmed by the High Court. Two out of the three accused are before us in appeal i.e. the first and second accused, the third having not filed an appeal.

(2.) We have heard Ms. Ashima Mandla, learned Counsel appearing for the appellant and Ms. Shraddha Chirania, learned Counsel appearing for the respondent who also filed written notes of submissions.

(3.) Before the trial court, sixteen witnesses were examined and 40 exhibits were marked, which included documents. The trial court found from the last seen together theory, extra-judicial confession; both spoken of by more than one witness, testimony of PW-4 who spoke of A3 having come to her house on the very same night, the recovery of the objects used as weapons, the seizures carried out and the serology report, that a complete chain of circumstances was established to nail the accused with the crime of premeditated murder. The multiple depositions regarding the last seen together theory and the extra-judicial confessions corroborated each other. So did the extra-judicial confession of the murder having been committed in a field, corroborated by the recovery of the body from the field and the detection of alcohol in the stomach, corroborated the testimony of the deceased having been found drinking with the accused. The High Court too listed out the above circumstances to convict the accused.