MAVJIBHAI RAMJIBHAI TAVIYAD Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WHETHER the deceased died by hanging herself committing suicide or the death was a murder by strangulation at the hands of appellant-accused is the core question to be addressed in this appeal.

(2.) ONE Maniben, wife of appellant-accused, found dead on 22nd June, 2008 at her matrimonial house, as hanged to death. The prosecution case as revealed from the complaint (Exhibit 8) lodged by brother of the deceased Manabhai Somabhai (PW 1) was that at around 10.30 pm on 22nd June, 2008, brother-in-law of his sister Maniben with other persons came to his house to inform that Maniben had committed suicide by hanging. The complainant along with his father Somabhai (PW 3) and other family members went in the morning of the next day to the matrimonial house of his sister, where they show that dead body of Maniben was kept lying in the middle and there was black coloured mark of rope and piece of rope was lying on the dead body. On being asked, the brother-in-law of the complainant-the appellant herein stated that yesterday evening the deceased had hanged herself. It was further stated that the rope lying there was the same used by her, which was cut and removed afterwards. According to the complainant, it was not stated as to for what reason she would hang herself. After Postmortem of the dead body done at Santrampur, the doctors stated that she died because her neck was strangulated. According to complainant, since his sister was done to death by strangulation and her body was hanged in the house, to make show of hanging and to hide the offence of murder, the complaint was accordingly lodged.

(3.) LEARNED advocate Mr.Gajendra Baghel for the appellant took the Court through the evidence and pressed following main submissions: