UTAMBHAI HANSAJI NAI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal arises out of the judgment and order passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Banaskantha at Deesa on 28.05.2003 in Sessions Case No.130 of 2002, convicting the appellant-accused for the offences punishable under Sections 302 and 498A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ('IPC' for short) and sentencing him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year and imposing fine of Rs.500/-, in default, to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for two months for the offence punishable under Section 498A of the IPC and also further sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment for life for the offence under Section 302 of IPC and imposing a fine of Rs.2000/-, in default, to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for one year. The said sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) The short facts of the prosecution case are that the present appellant-accused-Utmabhai Hansaji Nai ( the accused for short) and deceased-Amratiben ("the deceased" for short) were husband and wife and they had 15 years of marriage life, out of their wedlock they had four children. The accused, as a husband, used to beat and mentally and physically tortured the deceased and thereby used to commit act of cruelty. Because of the said harassment, the deceased left the house of the accused and came to her parental house and was staying there. Father of the accused had disposed off his field and had deposited an amount of Rs.50,000/- in the name of the deceased in Post Office and the accused wanted the said amount, therefore time and again, he used to harass the deceased which, in fact, became the reason of the deceased staying away from the accused. It is the case of the prosecution that on 19.04.2002, at about 7:30 p.m., the accused came to the parental house of the deceased at Dhakha and while the deceased was near the courtyard (oosari) of the house, the accused assaulted with knife and inflicted a blow upon her, which resulted into injury and at that point of time, aunty of the accused was preparing bread (rotla). The brother of the deceased, Lalitbhai Govabhai Nai (PW-5), who was taking rest, on the bed placed in the outer courtyard, heard screaming from the person of the deceased and hence, PW-5 shouted for help, because of which neighbours Lakhmanbhai Hanjaribhai Bhil (PW-6) and Hansabhai Vihaji Majirana (PW-7), came to the scene of offence and the accused, who was holding knife on his hand was made to sit in the house. Immediately the accused was removed to Civil Hospital, Dhaka and thereafter she was shifted to Palanpur by a jeep. Ultimately she succumbed to the injury received by her because of the aforesaid incident and that thereby the accused has committed the offences, as aforesaid.

(3.) An FIR was lodged alleging the aforesaid offence against the present accused-appellant. On the basis of the FIR above-mentioned, the police started investigation and on completion of investigation, police submitted charge-sheet against the accused-appellant for the offences under Sections 498A and 302 of IPC.