ODHAVJIBHAI HARJIBHAI AGHERA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant stood trial in Sessions Case No. 95 of 2007 in the Court of learned Sessions Judge, Rajkot for offence punishable under sections 302 and 188 of IPC and by the impugned judgement and order dated 31.07.2009, the learned Sessions Judge convicted the appellant for offence punishable under section 302 IPC and directed him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life and ordered fine of Rs. 20000/ -, in default, to undergo simple imprisonment for one year and acquitted him for offence punishable under section 188 IPC.

(2.) THE brief resume of the prosecution case against the appellant as disclosed during the trial is that deceased Rekhaben was the wife of the appellant and the appellant used to have frequent quarrels with her. On 11.06.2007, the appellant had an altercation with deceased regarding her character and at about 05.00 am the appellant attacked the deceased by means of knife at their residence at Mafatiyapara, opp Ranuja Temple, Rajkot and caused injuries on the neck and smashed her against the wall thereupon the deceased fell down and succumbed to the injuries. The appellant, with a view to cover up the crime, put a sack and plastic sheet over the dead body of the deceased and put it under a cot and thereafter washed off the blood stains on the floor. It is the prosecution case that the appellant burnt the clothes with which the floor was cleaned and he then locked the room from outside. The appellant had planned to bury the dead body outside the house by getting a pit dug through P.W. 15 and P.W. 16 and thereby committed offence punishable under section 302 and 188 IPC.

(3.) A complaint in respect of the said incident was registered with Rajkot Taluka Police Station being C.R. I -No. 240 of 2007 for offence punishable under section 302 and 188 of Indian Penal Code. Necessary panchnamas were drawn and investigation was carried out and chargesheet was submitted against the appellant. Thereafter, as the case was exclusively triable by the Sessions Court, the same was committed to the Sessions Court at Rajkot under Section 209 of the Code, where it was registered as Sessions Case No. 95 of 2007. Charge vide Ex. 3 came to be framed against the appellant. He pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried.