BHAUSAHEB EKNATH PAWAR Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The accused appellant who had been acquitted by the learned trial Court of the charge of commission of the offence of murder of his wife has been found guilty by the High Court in an appeal by the State of Maharashtra against the aforesaid order of acquittal. He has been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life by the High Court. Aggrieved, this appeal has been filed.

(2.) The prosecution case is built entirely on circumstantial evidence which has been set out by the High Court in paragraph 21 of its judgment/order. Four circumstances set out by the High Court and found to have been proved and established against the accused appellant are set out below:

(3.) To the above four circumstances we would like to add that there is a fifth (5th) circumstance and a highly incriminating one, namely, that from the deposition of Machindra (P.W.7), brother of the deceased, it is clear that the deceased had not come back home since the previous night and no family member including the accused appellant (deceased's husband) had lodged any report in this regard. Instead, the accused appellant had gone to work in the field in the next morning in a routine manner.