RAM CHANDRA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) RAM Chandra and his father RAM Het, both residents of village Nakdahi, P. S. Tarabganj, District Gonda have come up with this appeal against the order dated 26-2-1975 passed by the 1st Addl. District and Sessions Judge, Gonda in S. T. No. 408 of 1974. Through the impugned order RAM Chandra appellant has been convicted under Secs. 302 and 201, IPO. He has been awarded life imprisonment and four years' RI for those two offences which sentences have been ordered to run concurrently. RAM Het appellant has been convicted under Sec. 201, IPC and has been awarded four years' Rl. Smt. Raj Kunwari deceased was undisputedly the wife of RAM Chandra appellant. She was aged about 22 years at the time of occurrence. She died sometime in the night intervening 6/7-9-1972. In the next morning the two appellants and others took her dead body for cremation in a grave near river Chandahi quite close to the appellant's village. One RAM Sunder Tewari of appellants' village, who is now dead, sent a written report to S. O. Tarabganj infroming him that three days back he had learnt through RAM Chandra's mother that RAM Chandra had given a beating to his wife and since then her condition was precarious. RAM Sunder Tewari informed the police that Smt. Raj Kunwari had died on account of that beating and in order to screen the offenders the appellants had hurriedly taken her dead body for cremation. This written report was handed over to Badri, P. W. 3 who was the village Chaukidar for being taken to the police station. He was then unwell and therefore he sent that report to the police station through his son Chhedi P. W. 4. Badri himself accompanied by another Chaukidar Bhai Lal P. W. 7, rushed to the place where cremation was going on.

(2.) IT is contended by the prosecution that Badri, Bhai Lal and others entreated the appellants not to hurriedly cremate the dead body of Smt. Raj Kunwari as police was expected to arrive, but wiithout paying any heed to it fire had been applied to the mortal remains of Smt. Raj Kunwari. While her dead body was burning three police constables followed by S.I. Sri Narain Upadhya P. W. 13 reached the scene of occurrence at about 9 a. m. The dead body which was then badly charred and burnt was taken by the police into custody along with some ash and other remnants of the pyre. This dead body was sent for postmortem examination, after holding inquest. Dr. G. B. L. Srivastava the then C. M. O. Gonda conducted autopsy of the dead body at 4 p. m. on 8-9-1972. He found the dead body of Smt. Raj Kunwari in burnt and charred condition whereby external injuries could not be deciphered. Upon internal examination scalp, skull bones, membranes, base of skull, vertebrae and pleura were found decomposed. The left lung was congested whereas in the right lung echploymatic gullai was seen. The kidneys were found large, white and nephrotic. There was haematoma 10 cm x 8 cm x 3 cm in right para reid area with clotted blood all around right kidney which in the opinion of the doctor was caused by ante-mortem injury. The cause of death was found by the doctor to be delayed shock and haemorrhage as a result of injury to right kidney area.

(3.) IT is not disputed on behalf of the appellants that the police had arrived at the cremation ground when the dead body of Smt. Raj Kunwari was being burnt upon the pyre and her charred body was taken out of the fire by the police. Dr. G. B. L. Srivastava who had held autopsy of the dead body and had prepared post-mortem report Ex. Ka-3 had died before the opening of the trial in the Court below. Dr. Narendra Verma, Dy. C.M. O. Gonda was examined by the prosecution as P. W. 10 to prove the original post-mortem report prepared by Dr. Srivastava. He on the basis of the data given in the post-mortem examination report stated that the ante-mortem injury responsible for causing damage to the kidney of the deceased could be caused through blows given to her by the end of a lathi. IT appears from the post-mortem examination report that the kidney of the deceased was nephrotic. According to 'Modi' the kidneys may be ruptured by the slightest indirect violence when they are already weakened by diseases. Nephritis has been described by Modi as one of such diseases. (See page 291 of Modi's Text Book of Medical Jurisprudence and Toxicology, 1977 Edition). The medical evidence on record thus shows; that the deceased had died as a result of injury caused to her right kidney area which kidney was already suffering from nephritis. This medical evidence proves that Smt. Raj Kunwari had died an unnatural death through violence and not a natural death.