ROSHAN LAL Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Present Criminal Appeal has been preferred against the judgment and order dtd. 28/29/11/2018, passed by the court of learned 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Rishikesh, District Dehradun in Sessions Trial No.19 of 2018, State vs. Roshan Lal, arising out of Case Crime No.602 of 2017, P.S. Rishikesh, District Dehradun under Sec. 302 IPC, whereby the appellant has been convicted under Sec. 302 of the I.P.C. and has been sentenced with life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs.10,000.00 and to undergo additional four months simple imprisonment on failure to pay the fine.

(2.) The facts of the case are being narrated hereinafter. FIR dtd. 1/11/2017 was lodged by the PW1 Deepak Sarkar alleging that he, along with his parents and family members, resides on rent in the house of Govind Mandal at Mayakund. His younger sister, Rupa, was residing along with her husband, the appellant Roshan Lal, and their daughter in a rented house belonging to Harish Khanduri at Chandeshwar Nagar. It was alleged that the appellant regularly assaulted his sister. On the previous night, the appellant allegedly murdered his wife Rupa by strangulating her neck. The said report was registered as FIR No. 602 of 2017 at Police Station Rishikesh, District Dehradun, under Sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR was entered at Police Station Rishikesh vide GD Entry No. 013 dtd. 1/11/2017 at 7:19 a.m. Following the registration of the FIR, an inquest report dtd. 1/11/2017 was prepared, wherein the opinion of the panch witnesses was that the death of the deceased Rupa had occurred due to strangulation of the neck. The police also arrested the appellant at 10:10 a.m., and the arrest information memo was given to landlord Harish Khanduri. The police also recovered a clutch/break wire from the rented house of Harish Khanduri in Chandeshwar Nagar in which the appellant and the deceased were residing. The appellant confessed to having committed murder from that wire. The said wire was taken into possession in the presence of witnesses, sealed, and a recovery memo was prepared at 10:15 a.m.

(3.) It is pertinent to mention that, GD Entry No. 10 dtd. 1/11/2017 at 4:35 a.m. records the information given by the appellant at Police Station Rishikesh that he had murdered his wife Rupa by strangulating her with a wire. Vide G.D. Entry No. 031, the appellant was entered in Thana on 1/11/2017 along with the sealed bundle containing clutch wire, sample seal and arrest memo. The post-mortem examination on the body of Smt. Rupa was conducted at S.P.S. Government Hospital, Rishikesh, at 3:30 p.m. on 1/11/2017, wherein rigor mortis was found present all over the body. Bleeding was found from the nose and right ear. Signs of struggle were also found. Multiple contusions and lacerations were present on the face and neck of the deceased. A ligature mark extending around the entire neck was also found. The cause of death was opined to be asphyxia due to strangulation.