VIRENDRA KUMAR DHRUVE Vs. STATE OF C.G.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This criminal appeal filed by the appellant-accused under Sec. 374(2) of Cr.P.C. is directed against the impugned judgment of conviction and order of sentence dtd. 30/11/2016, passed by the Court of learned 6th Additional Sessions Judge, Durg, District-Durg (C.G.) in Sessions Trial No. 102/2016, whereby the appellantaccused has been convicted for offence punishable under Sec. 302 of IPC and sentenced to undergo life imprisonment with fine of Rs.1000.00 and, in default of payment of fine, to further undergo additional simple imprisonment for six months.

(2.) Case of the prosecution, in short, is that on 28/3/2016 at 11:30 pm. at village Navagaon Bani, Police Station Dhamdha, District - Durg the appellant-accused strangulated his wife Savita Dhurve to death, thereby committed the aforesaid offence. Thereafter, the appellant informed the matter to the police vide Ex.D-3, recorded by Head Constable, Beni Singh, thereafter, Beni Singh sent Constable Jahar Singh, and Head Constable Joshi to enquire the same from the spot and also instructed Toran Pal Singh (PW-2), villager of the said village to verify the said fact (Beni Singh, Jahar Singh and Joshi all were not examined). Vide Ex.D-4, Toran Pal Singh (PW-2) informed head constable Beni Singh that the wife of the appellant is lying dead in his (appellant) house. Thereafter, FIR was registered vide Ex.P-21 on the same date at 7:55 and the memorandum statement of the appellant was recorded vide Ex.P-8 on 29/3/2016 at 9:30 am., in presence of two witnesses Prakash Kumar (PW-4) and Rambagas (PW-5). Dead body of the deceased was recovered vide Ex.P-9 and sent for postmortem examination and in the postmortem examination report (Ex.P/20), Dr. Dhanwantari Prasad Thakur (PW-14) opined that the cause of death seems to be axphysia due to throttling. After due investigation, the appellant was charge-sheeted for the aforesaid offence to the jurisdictional criminal court and the case was ultimately committed to the Court of Sessions for hearing and disposal in accordance with law, in which the appellant abjured his guilt and entered into defence stating that he has not committed any offence and he has been falsely implicated.

(3.) In order to bring home the offence, prosecution has examined as many as 15 witnesses and exhibited 25 documents and the appellant-accused in support of his defence has exhibited three documents (Ex.D-1 to D-3). The statement of the appellant / accused was recorded under Sec. 313 of the CrPC in which he denied the circumstances appearing against him in the evidence brought on record by the prosecution, pleaded innocence and false implication.