ADITYANATH SINGH Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an extremely brutal and unfortunate case of matricide where the appellant, a young man, has been found guilty for the murder of his own mother. The learned Trial Court, after finding the appellant guilty, has sentenced him appropriately. Out of the two sons of the deceased, the appellant Adityanath Singh was the elder and was running in his late twenties at the time of incident. The background facts of this case are that appellant Adityanath Singh married with the co -accused Smt. Harjinder Kaur (acquitted by the Trial Court) out of love and affection towards her. The marriage was solemnized against the wishes of his parents and relatives as Ms. Harjinder Kaur belonged to 'Rai Sikh' community. So, the proposal of her parents to the parents of appellant for the marriage was not accepted. In disregard of the wishes of his parents, the appellant entered into this marriage in Arya Samaj Temple and got certificate to this effect from there. He was employed in private sector and was not in the position to disown his parents and start his own life with his newly wedded wife. So, he either lived in the house of his in -laws or many often he used to come and stay in his parents' house. His parents were not ready to accept Smt. Harjinder Kaur permitting her to live in the house as wife of their son. So, this theme made the appellant and his wife very much annoyed from the informant Ravindranath Singh (father) and deceased Smt. Santosh Singh (mother). More so, when the parents of the appellant made a declaration of depriving him from the properties owned by them.

(2.) 9/10.9.2006 was the fateful night when the appellant was returning from Moradabad after doing his job work and he pro -informed his parents on phone at about 9 PM that he was coming to their house. He arrived at his parents' house at about 1.20 AM in that night. The informant and his wife opened the lock of the main door and thus gave way to the appellant to go inside his room. He went in his room and changed his clothes. The appellant asked his mother to give some medicine as he disclosed that he was having headache. The informant (father) proceeded to his room and lay on the bed. The deceased Smt. Santosh Singh went to the room of her son Adityanath Singh to give him medicine as asked for. Meanwhile, the informant heard the screams of his wife. So, he rushed to the room of his son and saw that his son Adityanath was giving the blows of knife to his wife Smt. Santosh Singh. The informant strived to save her by making a noise, but the appellant escaped from the place of occurrence after pushing his father (informant) at the spot. Hearing the noise, neighbours came at the spot and thereafter Smt. Santosh Singh was shifted to Amrit Hospital in such a injured state. She was extended some treatment there and thereafter referred to higher centre Sushila Tiwari Medical College and Hospital, Haldwani. During the course of her admission in that hospital, she breathed her last there. After the inquest and post -mortem, the informant brought the dead body of his wife to his home and then went to the police station for lodging the First Information Report Ex. Ka -1. Chick report whereof is Ex. Ka -10.

(3.) THE investigation culminated into submission of the chargesheet Ex. Ka -21 against the appellant Adityanath Singh and his wife Smt. Harjinder Kaur for the offence of Section 302/120B IPC. Learned Sessions Judge levelled the charges against both the accused persons separately because the charge of Section 302 IPC was levelled against Adityanath Singh and the charge of Section 302 read with Section 120B IPC was levelled against Smt. Harjinder Kaur. The accused persons denied the charges and claimed trial. Learned Sessions Judge, after trial, has found Adityanath Singh guilty for the offence of Section 302 IPC, while did not find sufficient evidence of conspiracy against Smt. Harjinder Kaur and she was acquitted accordingly.