RAJPUT UPENDRA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Appeal preferred under Section 374(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ("Code, 1973"), arises out of judgment and order dated 23.12.2010 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Banaskantha, Palanpur, in Sessions Case No. 18 of 2010, whereby conviction and sentence imposed upon the appellant - original accused No. 1 for the offences punishable under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code. The appellant - accused No. 1 was ordered to undergo life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs. 5000/-, in default of the same, to undergo further rigorous imprisonment of 9 months for the offences punishable under Sections 302 of the Indian Penal Code and for the offence punishable under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code, he was ordered to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 7 years and to pay a fine of Rs. 2000/-, in default, further to undergo six months rigorous imprisonment. Originally, the said Sessions Case was preferred against in all seven accused including present appellant, but the learned Session Judge after considering the evidence on record, acquitted the original accused Nos. 2 to 7 and present appellant was also acquitted for the charges of offence punishable under Sections 304-B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3 and 7 of Dowry Prohibition Act.

(2.) The facts of the prosecution are such that the complainant namely Lakhansinh Khetsinh filed complaint being C.R. No. 102 of 2009 with Ambaji Police Station for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 304-B, 201 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3 and 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act, against the accused persons alleging that his marriage took place with one Geeta, daughter of Dayaramsinh Bhadoriya and he has two elder brothers-in-law and out of them, one namely Raghuvirsinh's brother-in-law, who is appellant in this appeal and accused No. 1. As per the complaint, the appellant came with his wife - Sadhna to Ahmedabad by Hero Honda Motorcycle and thereafter, they went to Ambaji to meet the complainant. Thereafter, the appellant and his wife went to Mt. Abu on Motorcycle and thereafter, at 4:30 p.m. in evening, the appellant alone came at the house of the complainant and stayed there. Thereafter, the complainant and the appellant went to the parking place and then, the complainant proceeded for his routine evening walk and the appellant did not come with him and stayed at parking place. When the complainant was returning from his evening walk, he received phone call from the appellant about the quarrel took place between the appellant and deceased at Gabbar Road and he gave knife blows to the deceased. Therefore, the complainant with the help of his friend namely Rajubhai Thakore went on motorcycle at the place of incident, where they found that the wife of appellant namely Sadhna found on earth and she was given blows of knife. Upon inquiry, the appellant told that three Adivasi persons snatched away the golden chain from his neck and they had given knife blows to his wife Sadhna and then, they ran away towards forest side at Gabbar Road. Thereafter, the appellant, complainant and other two persons shifted the said Sadhna, wife of the appellant, to the Govt. hospital at Ambaji, where she was declared died by the Doctor of that Hospital. During the course of medical treatment of the appellant, the complainant made inquiry about the incident and at that time, the police came there and therefore, the appellant disclosed in his extra judicial confession before the police that during the "Navratri", his wife Sadhna moved with other male person and therefore, he persuaded her to leave that male person as there is no custom of divorce in the caste of appellant. But the deceased Sadhna did not turn up and therefore, the appellant killed his wife by inflicting blows of knife. Thereafter, the statements of witnesses were recorded, inquest panchnama, panchnama-scene of offence, purchase of knife, cloths on the body of deceased, Hero Honda Bike etc. were drawn and same were tagged with the papers of investigation.

(3.) After the investigation, the learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Danta, in exercise of power under Section 209 of the Code, 1973, committed the case to the learned Sessions Judge, Palanpur, where it was numbered as Sessions Case No. 18 of 2010 and later on, it was tried whereby the prosecution examined several evidence oral and documentary and finally statement of the accused also came to be recorded under Section 313 of the Code, 1973, whereby charge was denied by the appellant - accused completely.