GHURAI Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal has been preferred against the judgment and order dated 13-7-1984 passed by Sri S. C. M. Ttipathi, the then Had Additional Sessions Judge, Shahjahanpur, whereby Ghurai has been convicted under Section 302, I. P. C. and sentenced to imprisonment for life in Sessions Trial No. 507 of 1982.

(2.) THE prosecution case, in brief, is that Sewa Ram, husband of Smt. Shriwati, had died, Jograj brother of Ram Kishan remarried her 10 months before the incident according to Bithaki custom and she started living with him as his wife. THE accused who is elder brother of Sewa Ram wanted Smt. Shriwati to live with him as his wife but she turned down that proposal saying that he had already four major children and wife and further that he was her 'jeth' (elder brother of her husband ). It offended Ghurai, who assaulted her and tried to turn out of the house several times. He sold her four goats and also did not give any share in the agricultural holding in spite of her demand. Being harassed at the end of Ghurai, she started living with Jograj as his wife. THEreafter Ghurai convened a Panchayat in the village for return of Smt. Shriwati but in the Panchayat she clearly refused to go to the house of Ghurai. THEreupon Ghurai in angry posture told that since it was question of his prestige, he will not allow her to live with Jograj and he will kill her and Jograj both. However, the son born from the union of Sewa Ram and the utensils were returned to her in the Panchayat. In the night of 9/10-5-1982, Jograj and Smt. Shriwati were sleeping out side their room undo, a Thatch, THE informant Ram Kishan, brother of the deceased, heard shrieks of Shriwati that Ghurai was assaulting her husband. On hearing her shrieks, the informant, Mitthu Lal, Chhotey Lal rushed to the place of incident flashing torches while Ram Swarup, Babu Ram and Raghubir came there challenging the assailant. At that time Ghurai was going with a blood stained 'gandasa' from the chipper of the deceased and was saying that one of them has already been eliminated and if they tried to chase him that would not be in their interest and fled away through the lane towards North and he could not be apprehended. At the time of incident a kerosene oil dibia w is burning in the chappar. THE lady recognished the assailant in the light of that 'dibia', while the other witnesses recognised him in the torch light. THE witnesses found Jograj lying dead on a cot with numerous injuries on his face, neck, head and scapula. THE informant could not go to police station in the night due to fear. In the morning, he got a report written and leaving the deadbody in the custody of villagers left to the police station Kalan where he lodged an F. I. R. on 10-5-1982 at 8. 30 p. m. , the distance of police station being 5 miles from the place of occurrence.

(3.) THE prosecution examined 6 witnesses in all to prove its case. Out of them, PW 2 Ram Kishan, PW 3 Smt. Shriwati and PW 4 Mitthu Lal are the witnesses of the factum of incident. PW 1 Yogendra Pal Singh Constable took the deadbody from the place of occurrence to the police station, while PW 5 Jagdish Giri Goswami investigated the case and PW 6 Dr. A. K. Mehrotra had conducted the post-mortem examination on the deadbody.