(1.) BEING aggrieved by the judgment of conviction dated 4. 4. 2002 passed by the Learned Sessions judge, Belgaum, in Sessions Case No. 97/2000 finding the accused guilty of the offences punishable under Section 302 IPC and sentencing him to imprisonment for life, the present appeal is filed.
(2.) THE brief facts giving rise to the present case as per the prosecution are as follows: the deceased Bharathi daughter of PW-1 Thangawwa originally resident of Hulikavi Village was married to accused about seven years prior to her death on 18. 11. 1999. According to the prosecution after the marriage, the accused who hails from Muthwad Village in Saundatti Taluk came to eke his livelihood and settled in the Janatha Plot houses at Hirebagewadi. According to the prosecution, in spite of seven years of marriage the deceased did not get any children and angered by the same, the accused used to assault her, treating cruelly especially while in drunken condition. It is alleged that in spite of advice from the mother and others, the accused did not mend his ways. The ultimate result of this was brutal murder of Bharathi in the afternoon of 18. 11. 1999 in her house itself. As per the prosecution, PW-3 Kasturi and her husband PW-9 Suresh were the neighbours of the accused and the deceased and his mother P W-10 along with another PW-4 Roshan. It is alleged in the afternoon about 1 p. m. the neighbours heard the quarrelling and shouting as well as cry of woman from the house of the accused and when they came out of their houses they saw the accused coming out of the house with blood stained hands as well the clothes stained with blood and it is stated that after closing the door, he told others that he has committed murder of his wife and demanded Rs. 20/- to go away, but on refusal he ran away from the spot with an axe in his hand. Thereafter, PW-7 Raja, acquaintance of the deceased and her mother, sent words to PW-1 about the murder of her daughter. It is the case of the prosecution that she arrived around 9 p. m. in the night and thereafter, with the help of PW-2, Gurusiddaiah, gave a written complaint as per ex. P 1 to the jurisdictional police at Hirebagewadi. PW-15 ASI and SHO of the police station on the basis of search complaint registered a case in crime No. 192/1999 and takes up investigation. The necessary procedures like drawing up of spot mahazar, inquest proceedure, seizure of articles from the crime scene and recording of the evidence of the witnesses is done on the next day and search for the accused is set in and on 19th the accused is arrested at Nesargi cross on belgaum Bagalkot road, brought to the police station and interrogated. In the police station it is alleged that the accused made voluntary statement, admissible portion marked as perex. P. 19, leading the police and the mahazar witnesses to discover the blood stained clothes of the accused mo's 10 and 11 as well as the axe MO. 9 said to have been used for the crime. The same were seized and sent to the forensic science laboratory along with the clothes of the deceased. After receipt of the necessary reports like FSL, autopsy etc. and on completion of the investigation, chargesheet against the accused is filed under Section 302 IPC. After committal proceedings and on the basis of the chargesheet material, accused is charged for the offence under Section 302 IPC. Since the accused denied the charge and claimed to be tried he is tried in sessions Case No. 97/2000. In order to establish its case the prosecution has relied upon the evidence of PW's 1 to 17 as well as the Exhibits P1 to P25 and MO's 1 to 11. Apart from the total denial of the prosecution case while being questioned under Section 313 Cr. P. C, the accused has given a written statement proclaiming himself to be an innocent and set an alibi to the effect that on that day he was in the parental house at Muthawad in Saundatti Taluk and only after coming to know of the incident he came down and learnt that one Rajashekar Salimani (PW-7) was responsible for the murder of his wife. He further alleges that the police have deliberately not lodged the case against the said person, but have falsely implicated in the crime in question. The Trial Court on appreciation of the entire evidence and on going through the arguments of both the sides, by the impugned judgment held that the prosecution has proved the case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt and accordingly, convicted him. As stated earlier, as against this judgment of conviction and sentence the present appeal is filed.
(3.) SRI. Ravi Deshpande, Learned Counsel for the appellant, taking us through the entire evidence vehemently contended that the entire approach of the Trial Court in appreciating the evidence is illegal and contrary to the well settled norms. He contended that there is an inordinate delay in lodging and complaint and this delay has been utilised by the police and the prosecution witnesses especially PW-1 to falsely implicate the accused. In this regard, he relied upon the pronouncement of the Apex Court in the case of Ganesh Bhavan Patel v. State of Maharashtra, AIR1979 SC 135 , 1979 Crilj51 , (1978 )4 SCC371 , [1979 ]2 SCR94. Highlighting the same, he further contended that even though the police were aware of the incident much earlier to 9'0 clock as the police station is hardly one forlong away from the Crime seene, non action on the part of the police either in recording the first information through the neighbours or suo motu shows that the police intended to purchase the time for deliberating and to give shape to the prosecution case so as to falsely implicate the accused. Pointing out towards the evidence of the prosecution witnesses, he contended that though the prosecution witnesses pw's 3, 4, 9 and 10 were the immediate neighbours and have supported the investigating agency earlier, have given complete go by to the prosecution case and as such have been declared as hostile witnesses. It is submitted that the entire object of the investigating agency and the prosecution to examine these was to show the presence of the accused at the time of the incident is coming out of the house wherein blood stained clothes as well as holding the alleged murderous weapon, the axe. It is contended that once the witnesses have not supported the prosecution there in absoultely no material whatsoever to hold that the prosecution has proved its case beyond doubt much less reasonable doubt. He also pointed out towards the discrepancy in the evidence of the prosecution witnesses as to the wearing apparels, as spoken to by PW-3, pant and a shirt vis-a-vis the alleged recovery of the banian and the lungi by the police again said to have been blood stained would indicate that the investigating agency had created the evidence falsely so as to fix the appellant with crime in question. On these among other grounds it is contended that the entire evidence of the prosecution is been untrustworthy ought not to have been relied upon by the Trial Court to convict the appellant with a serious crime of murder.