AMRUTBEN BHAYA EBHA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant - Amrutben has challenged the judgement and order of the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Gondal in Sessions Case No. 52 of 1989 convicting her for the offence under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing her to imprisonment for life and also convicting her for the offence under section 201 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing her to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year, on a finding that, during the night between 5th September 1989 and 6th September 1989 at 2.00 a.m., she had after a quarrel with her husband (Bhaya Ebhabhai) who was insisting on her to have illicit relations with unknown persons, caused his death by giving him a blow with a `dhoka' and strangulating him and thereby committed an offence of murder and since she had hidden the dead body of her husband below the cot in her house, she had committed the offence of causing disappearance of evidence of offence punishable under section 201 of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) As per the Charge exh.1, it was alleged that, on 6-9-1989, the accused quarrelled with her husband over his asking her to have illicit relations with two unknown persons, and at about 2.00 a.m., gave him a blow with a `dhoka' on his head and then strangulated him, thereby causing his death and committed an offence punishable under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. It was also alleged that she had hidden the dead body of her husband beneath the cot in her house so that the evidence of the commission of the offence does not come to light and thereby, committed an offence under section 201 of the Indian Penal Code. It was thus the case of the prosecution itself that the husband of the accused was trying to force her to have illicit relations with two strangers and that there was a quarrel over it since she was not agreeable to such a suggestion. In fact, the prosecution version goes beyond this suggestion by alleging that over a period of time before the occurrence, the husband of the accused had made earnings by inviting strangers to have illicit relations with his wife against her will, and that there used to be quarrels between them over such compulsion, and the accused had about four years prior to the incident, tried to commit suicide by consuming poison, but was saved. According to the prosecution, after the incident occurred, she had hidden the dead body of her husband beneath the cot throughout the day on 6-9-1989. However, in the evening at about 8.30 p.m., she felt uneasy and went to the house of her father-in-law and informed her father-in-law and mother-in-law that her husband was killed. The prosecution version is that thereafter, her FIR mark `A' was lodged and she was forwarded under a `yadi' to the hospital for medical examination as she was having injuries. As per the medical evidence, she was having external marks of injury over both her legs. According to the prosecution, in her FIR, the accused had alleged that she had married Bhaya Ebha, who was of a different caste, but after their marriage, Bhaya used to bring strangers to the house and force her to have physical relations with them. Bhaya's hands were burnt about eight years prior to the incident when the stove had burst.

(3.) As per the complaint of the accused, because of such insistence by her husband who forced her to have illicit relations with strangers, she was fed up and about four years prior to the incident, she had consumed poison as a result of such harassment and was removed to the civil hospital. About a month before the incident also, she had again consumed poison and was removed to the civil hospital. Five months prior to the incident, her husband had beaten her and she had borrowed medicinal tube from a neighbour for applying on the injury. According to the prosecution, the accused alleged in her FIR that, since about a month prior to the incident, she was not keeping good health and was having pain in her chest and feeling breathless, and therefore, she had bluntly refused to have any such relations. However, on 5-9-1989, her husband, after having meals at night, told her that she should entertain two strangers on the next night and be with them during the night. She refused to have such relations and there ensued a quarrel between them which lasted till late night. At about 2.00 a.m., her husband started giving her kick blows and beating her with his hands, causing injuries to her on her legs. Therefore, she got exasperated and picked up a `dhoka' (used for washing clothes) and hit him on his head, as a result of which he fell down on the cot. She then took the nylon string which was lying on the sewing machine and tied it around his neck and strangulated him. He became unconscious. She then inserted a piece of cloth in his mouth and covered his face with a cloth bag and tied over it a cloth piece so that he may not breathe. When her elder son who was about 8 years of age woke up, she just told him that her father was not well. When on hearing commotion the watchman of the society asked her as to what had happened, she told him that her husband had beaten her and gone away. She had then put the corpse below the cot after tying it. During the day, she washed her clothes and remained in the house. However, in the evening at about 8.00 p.m., she felt restless and went to her father-in-law Ebha Kana's house where she disclosed to the family members about the incident and thereafter, when asked to file the complaint, she had lodged this complaint.