UTTAMPRAKASH OMKARNATH SHUKLA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 31st May, 2007, passed by the Presiding Officer, Fourth Fast Track Court, Surat, whereby the accused -appellant came to be convicted for the offence of murder punishable under Section 302 of IPC and was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life with fine of Rs. 2,000/ - and in default of payment of fine, further simple imprisonment of two months.

(2.) The case of the prosecution is that on 21st September, 2003, PW -2 Angad Dayashankar Tiwari lodged a First Information Report Exh.14 at Limbayat Police Station, Surat City, stating that he is residing past five years at the address shown in the FIR with his wife Suman and two daughters, namely - Vijaylaxmi, aged 7 years and Roshni, aged 3. At the time of lodging of the FIR, the wife of the first informant i.e. the deceased was pregnant. The first informant is engaged in the business of parcel packing and operates from the textile market. He had employed around 15 to 16 persons to help him in his work and one of them was one Uttam Shukla (the accused). All these persons stayed along with the first informant in his house. The food for all these persons was also being prepared at the residence of the first informant. The first room of the house in the front was being used by the first informant, his wife and two daughters, whereas the second room and the kitchen portion was being used by the labourers employed by the first informant, more particularly during monsoon. On 19th September, 2003 at around 6 to 7 in the evening, the first informant asked the accused to go in a tempo which was loaded with goods, at a place called DRT Transports, situated opposite Kamela Darwaja Vittal Dyeing. The tempo was being driven by one Pankaj Bihari. While on the way, the accused got down from the tempo and therefore, the driver Pankaj Bihari informed the first informant that Uttam Shukla got down from the tempo. At around 11.30 in the night, first informant met Uttam Shukla, the accused and rebuked him for getting down from the tempo, and also gave two to three slaps to Uttam Shukla. The first informant reprimanded Uttam Shukla because by his getting down from the tempo midway, there were chances of one of the parcels of the goods getting damaged or lost. Thereafter, the first informant and others came home including the accused and went to sleep. On 20th September, 2003, at around 1' O Clock in the afternoon, the first informant and others left for work. The first informant left on his motorcycle to reach the market. At around 6' O Clock in the evening, he was at New Textile Market and at that point of time, he received a phone call from Uttam Shukla saying that he wanted to go to his village and asked the first informant to settle the account with him and to pay the money. The first informant enquired with Uttam Shukla as to why all of a sudden he decided to go to the village, but Uttam Shukla gave no reply. The first informant told Uttam Shukla that at that time there was a boom in the business and as he was in need of more labourers, he should come back to work. The accused disconnected the telephone on being explained by the first informant. Thereafter, the first informant came to Ashoka Towers and there, he enquired with his other labourers about Uttam Shukla, and the first informant was told that Uttam Shukla left at around 5' O Clock in the evening and had not returned. Thereafter, on completion of work, the first informant and his staff reached home at around 2.30 in the early morning on 21st September, 2003. The first informant reached his home on his motorcycle, which was being driven by Ramgopal Shukla, one of the staff members. On reaching home, the first informant knocked the door but nobody opened. The first informant thought that his wife might have gone to sleep and thinking so, he asked Ramgopal Shukla to go to terrace and get down in the house from the rear door. Ramgopal Shukla on reaching the terrace shouted "Suman has been murdered !!". The first informant raised shouts and therefore, people from the neighbourhood gathered at the house of the first informant. Ramgopal Shukla managed to enter in the house from a rear door and on opening the house, the first informant found that his wife was lying in the kitchen in a pool of blood. The first informant saw that his wife had sustained serious injuries on the head and was dead. The first informant saw that one of the legs of the dinning table was broken and was lying on the ground. The first informant started crying. As the first informant started crying, the elder daughter of the first informant named Vijaylaxmi woke up. The first informant enquired with his elder daughter Vijaylaxmi as to what had happened, and in reply, Vijaylaxmi is said to have told the first informant that in the night Uttam Shukla came home, the deceased opened the door and thereafter, Uttam closed both the doors from inside and dragged her mother inside the house, and thereafter, she went to sleep. This is what was narrated by Vijaylaxmi to her father, the first informant. First informant found that the lock of one of the cupboards was open. He had no idea as to whether any valuables had been taken away from the cupboard or not. In the meantime, friends and relatives gathered at his house. One of his relatives named Chandraprakash Pande informed the first informant that at around 8' O Clock in the night, Uttam Shukla had met him and demanded Rs. 10/ - from him for the purpose of rickshaw fare as he wanted to go to his village, and that Chandraprakash Pande had given Rs. 10/ - to Uttam Shukla. On inquiry, the whereabouts of Uttam Shukla were not known, but the first informant learnt through his other staff members that Uttam Shukla had not come for work on that day after 5' O Clock in the evening. Thereafter, Police arrived on being informed by someone at the house of the first informant. The first informant stated in his FIR that it was Uttam Shukla who had committed the murder of his wife, as he was rebuked by him and was also slapped two to three times on account of negligence in work, and as a result of which, out of vengeance, Uttam Shukla assaulted his wife with one of the legs of the dinning table on her head causing her death.

(3.) On the strength of such First Information Report, the Police started investigation by sending the body of the deceased for postmortem. The postmortem report revealed the following external injuries: -