DEVLAL NISHAD Vs. STATE OF C.G.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Invoking the appellate jurisdiction of this Court under Sec. 374(2) of the CrPC, the sole appellant herein has preferred this appeal calling in question legality, validity and correctness of the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dtd. 12/7/2018 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Link Court, Kurud, District Dhamtari, in Sessions Trial No.61/2017, by which the sole appellant herein has been convicted for murder of his wife under Ss. 302 & 201 of the IPC and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life & pay fine of Rs.100.00, in default, to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for one month and rigorous imprisonment for three years & pay fine of Rs.100.00, in default, to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for one month, respectively.

(2.) Case of the prosecution, in short, is that on 22/8/2017 at 11:00 a.m., at Village Tarragondi, Police Station Bhakhara, District Dhamtari, the appellant strangulated his wife Smt. Tarabai Nishad with the help of a rope and in order to screen himself from the offence, hanged the dead body and thereby committed the offence. Thereafter, the appellant himself reported the matter to the police pursuant to which morgue intimation was registered vide Ex.P-4 and FIR was lodged vide Ex.P14. Inquest over the dead body of the deceased was conducted vide Ex.P-3. Dead body of deceased Smt. Tarabai Nishad was sent for postmortem to Community Health Centre, Kurud vide Ex.P-1A. Postmortem was conducted by a team of two doctors namely, Dr. U.S. Navratna (PW-1) & Dr. Saroj Diwan (PW-14) vide Ex.P-1 and cause of death was stated to be cardio respiratory arrest due to strangulation lead to constriction at air passages, death to be homicidal in nature and mode of death to be asphyxia. Rope was seized vide Ex.P-7 from the place of incident.

(3.) Statements of the witnesses were recorded under Sec. 161 of the CrPC. After due investigation, the accused / appellant was chargesheeted for offences under Ss. 302 & 201 of the IPC and charge-sheet was filed before the jurisdictional criminal court i.e. Judicial Magistrate First Class, Kurud, and the case was committed to the Court of Sessions, Dhamtari from where the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Link Court, Kurud, District Dhamtari received the case on transfer for trial.