PADESHVAR Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This criminal appeal preferred under Sec. 374(2) of the CrPC is directed against the impugned judgment of conviction recorded and sentence awarded by the learned Sessions Judge by which the appellant has been convicted for offence under Sec. 302 of the IPC and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and further sentenced to pay a fine of Rs.1,000.00, in default, to further undergo additional rigorous imprisonment for three months.

(2.) Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that on 9/2/2014 at 11.00 p.m. in Village Bagbahar Para, Bastar, Police Chowki Bastar, District Bastar, the appellant poured kerosene oil on his mother Hirai Bai and set her on fire by which she suffered burn injury and died. Further case of the prosecution is that the appellant, his mother Hirai Bai and his brother Phoolchand (PW-4) were residing separately in three parts of one ancestral house and earning their livelihood independently. Deceased Hirai Bai was widow being wife of Tangru. She used to prepare food herself and on the date of incident, Phoolchand (PW-4) being truck driver has gone to Jagdalpur and the appellant was in inebriated condition in the house and on 9/2/2014 in the evening, deceased Hirai Bai was also under the influence of liquor and in the night she prepared her food and ate the food, and the electricity (light) being unavailable, she was sleeping after closing the door. At about 11.00 p.m. in the late night, smell of some burn came from the room of deceased Hirai Bai, then Smt. Lachhmani (PW-3) - wife of Phoolchand (PW-4) and daughter-in-law of deceased Hirai Bai, went inside the room and noticed that her mother-in-law has completely burnt and she has died and the appellant herein was present there and pouring water on the body of the deceased and was trying to extinguish the fire. Since her mother-in-law has burnt completely, Smt. Lachhmani (PW-3) firstly lodged report to Police Chowki Bastar on 10/2/2014 pursuant to which morgue intimation was registered vide Ex.P-3 and thereafter, panchnama was prepared vide Ex.P-10 and spot map was prepared vide Ex.P-8. Muffler, burnt sari, blanket ( kathri) and coconut oil container were seized from the dead body of the deceased vide Ex.P-7. Dead body of the deceased was sent for postmortem which was conducted by Dr. Kamal Singh Sete (PW-9) vide Ex.P-12 in which cause of death was stated to be due to asphyxia caused by burn leading to cardio-respiratory failure. Thereafter, on the disclosure statement of the appellant vide Ex.P- 5, burnt white towel was seized vide Ex.P-6. Seized articles were sent for forensic examination vide Ex.P-18 to the Forensic Science Laboratory, Jagdalpur and acknowledgment receipt was also received from FSL, Raipur vide Ex.P-19, but the FSL report is un- exhibited, however, the same is available on record.

(3.) Statements of the witnesses were recorded under Sec. 161 of the CrPC. After usual investigation, the accused / appellant was charge-sheeted for offence under Sec. 302 of the IPC and charge-sheet was filed before the jurisdictional criminal court and the case was committed to the Court of Sessions, Bastar at Jagdalpur, for trial in accordance with law.