DIPAK @ KANO VINODBHAI SONI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appeal is filed by original accused No. 2 challenging the judgment dated 21.07.2010 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Ahmedabad (Rural), in Sessions Case No. 24 of 2008. He along with accused No. 1 was charged with the offences punishable under Sections 302, 34 read with Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code and Section 135(1) of the Bombay Police Act. Both the accused were convicted for the offences and sentenced to imprisonment for life. We are informed that accused No. 1 -Padmaben has not preferred any appeal. Briefly stated, the prosecution version was that accused No. 1 -Padmaben though described as wife of deceased Rajendrabhai alias Rajubhai Kalbe, had a live -in relation with him. She resided in Gokuldham Apartment, Vejalpur, Ahmedabad Nearby her residence, accused No. 2 - Deepak alias Kano Vinodbhai Soni also lived. Accused Nos. 1 and 2 developed intimate relationship with each other. The deceased Rajendrabhai disliked this. He had few times warned accused No. 2 and also picked up quarrels with his wife - accused No. 1 - Padmaben. The accused finding deceased Rajendrabhai a hindrance in their extramarital relations, conspired to eliminate him. With this intention, late at night on 30th December 2007, accused No. 1 - Padmaben gave a phone call to accused No. 2 - Deepak and called him at her residence when her husband Rajendrabhai was fast asleep. Accused No. 2 came to the house of accused No. 1 armed with a hammer and other weapons. He repeatedly assaulted deceased Rajendrabhai with the hammer causing multiple injuries on the head and other parts of the body. Due to such injuries, Rajendrabhai expired. In order to give a different twist to the incident, hands and legs of accused No. 1 - Padmaben were tied with a Duppata and the door was bolted from the outside. In the morning, Padmaben kicked the door with the feet upon which a neighbour came and released her. She claimed that at night two unknown people had come and made her smell something due to which she lost consciousness and therefore did not know what happened in the night.

(2.) DURING the course of the investigation, the investigating agency found the version given by the wife of the deceased highly suspicious. It was revealed that she had an affair with accused No. 2 - Deepak Soni. The murder weapon hammer was discovered at the instance of accused No. 2 from the river. Blood stained clothes were discovered from his residence. The details of the mobile phone numbers allegedly used for the conversation on the night of December 30th were also collected.

(3.) THE FIR was lodged by accused No. 1 - Padmaben herself. This FIR makes interesting reading. We may record gist of the complaint. She stated that she resided at Gokuldham Apartment, Vejalpur since about 3 years with her husband Rajubhai. He was previously married to one Nandaben. She was herself previously married to one Laxmanbhai Chavda. She had developed relations with Rajendrabhai upon which she took divorce from her husband 7 to 8 years back. Since then she was residing as a kept with Rajendrabhai. Rajubhai's first wife Nandaben came to know about her relation and therefore severed her relations with her husband. On 29.12.2007, she and her husband watched television till late night. At about 12:30 they went to sleep in the bedroom. Late that night i.e. early morning of 30.12.2007, at about 3:00 O'clock, she heard the doorbell. She went and opened the door and saw that two people with faces covered with the handkerchiefs, were standing there. They inquired about her husband. She asked them to wait outside so that she could wake her husband, at which time, they suddenly entered the house. One of them covered her face with a handkerchief. Upon smelling the handkerchief she lost consciousness. She regained her consciousness at about 6:30 in the morning. She found that her hands and legs were tied with a cloth. She freed her legs and kicked the door which was locked from outside. Upon which her neighbour Dineshbhai came and opened the door and released her hands. She immediately went to the bedroom and saw pool of blood there. She started screaming. Her neighbour Surekhaben and her husband also arrived. She did not open the door in the fear of the police. After calling the mother of the deceased and Nandaben, the previous wife, who arrived at about 10:00 O'clock, the door was opened. They found that her husband was lying dead on the cot. She further stated that her husband was in the habit of drinking liquor. Some 4 -5 days before the incident, he had gone to Makarba for that purpose where he picked up a quarrel with someone. He was beaten up.