JAYENDRASINGH JAYUBHA GAJUBHA JADEJA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant was inter alia sentenced to life imprisonment by impugned judgement and order dated 30.07.2008 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Rajkot in Sessions Case No. 55 of 2007 for the offence punishable under section 302 of IPC. Being aggrieved by the said conviction and sentence, the appellant has preferred the present appeal. As per the prosecution case, on 16.03.2007, the complainant and his brother was sleeping in a room adjacent to the one in which his parents (deceased and accused) were sleeping. At around 01.30 am at midnight, the complainant heard a wail by his mother and woke up. He awakened his brother and they both knocked on the door of the room in which their parents were sleeping. It is the case of the prosecution that as the door was not being opened, the complainant's brother tried to climb the roof of the house to peep inside the room but by then the deceased opened the door and walked out of the room pushing the complainant and saying that he is going to die. The complainant went inside the room only to find the deceased lying in a pool of blood with stab wounds over her body. The complainant immediately grabbed the deceased in his arms and asked his younger brother to inform their relatives. Thereafter, the relatives arrived at the scene of offence and the deceased was taken to hospital where she was declared as brought dead.

(2.) MR . Mihir Pathak, learned advocate appearing for the appellant has erred in not appreciating the fact of the case that there was no independent eye witness to the alleged incident who could have proved the case of the complainant as well as prosecution beyond reasonable doubt. He submitted that the sons of the accused did not see him hitting or killing the deceased and that the role of the accused in the incident was not proved by the prosecution beyond reasonable doubt.

(3.) BEFORE adverting the merits of the case, this court is moved by the crude and barbaric action of the accused in giving 27 blows to the deceased who was his wife while she was sleeping at night and then fleeing from the place of offence and now taking the plea that the doctor had in his opinion submitted and opined that had she been taken to hospital in time, she would have survived and that the accused had no intention would not be justified.