JITESH @ JANDI DEVABHAI SOLANKI Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals under Sec. 374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as "the Code ") are directed against the judgement and order of conviction and sentence dtd. 24/7/2012 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Amreli in Sessions Case No. 46 of 2011, whereby the appellants - convicts have been convicted of the offence under Sec. 302 read with Sec. 114 of the Indian Penal Code and have been sentenced to undergo life imprisonment with fine of Rs.5,000.00 each.

(2.) As per the prosecution case, the first informant-Shambhubhai Bhanabhai Dabhi lodged a first information report alleging that on 12/10/2010, at about 6 O'clock in the morning, his son Raju had gone for labour work on Jitubhai Lakhubhai Darbar's tractor and at about 12:00 in the afternoon, he had come home for lunch and had gone for labour work at 02:30 in the afternoon and did not return home in the evening. Since he generally used to come late in the evening, he did not make any inquiry in that regard. However, when on the next day also, Raju did not return home, he inquired from the neighbourhood and made phone calls to relatives and made inquiries for two days, however, there was no trace of Raju. On 15/10/2010, at around 08:30 O'clock, he came to know that in the waters of the rivulet behind Toda's room, a corpse of a man was floating. Upon learning about the same, since his son Raju had not come home, he and his son Sharad and his wife went there to inquire and upon reaching there, they found his son Raju's naked corpse and upon the police arriving, the corpse was taken out and he had identified that it was his son Raju. A wire with a stone had been tied round his abdomen and hence, upon the corpse being found, he had some suspicion in that regard and the police had sent the dead body for postmortem to the Amreli Civil Hospital, where the doctor had referred the matter to the Bhavnagar Government Hospital for postmortem. The postmortem was carried out on 16/10/2010 and the dead body was handed over to him for carrying out the funeral rites.

(3.) In the aforesaid backdrop, the first informant had lodged the first information report on 21/3/2011 against the appellants - accused. Pursuant to the lodging of the first information report, the Investigating Officer carried out investigation and upon conclusion of the investigation, submitted the charge-sheet in the court of the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Amreli, who committed the case to the Court of Sessions where, it was registered as Sessions Case No. 46 of 2011.