RAM SAMUJH Vs. STATE OF U.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IMPUGNED herein is the judgement and order dated 2.3.2009 ren­dered by Addl. Sessions Judge Court No. 6 Allahabad (Court No. 6) in S.T. No. 393 of 2007 State v. Ram Samujh and others whereby the appellant was convicted un­der section 302 IPC and punished with death penalties together with a fine of Rs. 5000/- attended with their conviction un­der section 201 IPC and sentence of impris­onment for seven years.

(2.) IT would appear from the record that the initial report was made by Ram Nath, father of Ram Samujh on 11.9.2006 at 9.30 a.m. to the effect that Urmila and her daughter Soni had gone for easing them­selves in the morning and when they did not return, search was made and after as­siduous search, their bodies were noticed to be floating in the village pond at about 7 a.m. It is further stated in the report that it appeared that the deceased Urmila slipped into the pond while cupping her hands for water from the pond for washing. The In­formation was noted in G.D report No. 15 at 9.30 a.m and the police party rushed to the spot and fished out dead bodies from the pond and thereafter, prepared panchnama which commenced at 9.30 a.m. Subsequently, the bodies were sealed and sent for post-mortem examination. On ob­jection being raised by the Medical officer to the effect that the inquest report had not been processed by a Magistrate, the Station officer Baharia took steps and made request to Sub Divisional officer Phulpur to do the needful. The S.D.M acting on the request, deployed Tileshwar Prasad Naib Tahsildar on 13.9.2006 for preparing the inquest and on direction of the S.D.M the Naib Tahsil­dar visited the mortuary and prepared the inquest report. In the inquest report, he mentioned the factum of autopsy being conducted by a panel of two doctors. The autopsy on the dead bodies as it would appear was done by a penal of two doctors.

(3.) ON the other hand, the mother of the deceased namely Kamla Devi lodged the report on 14.9.2006 at P.S. Baharia. As a prelude it is stated in the F.I.R that her daughter namely Urmila Devi had been tied in nuptial knots with Ram Samujh resident of Village Karnaipur according to Hindu rites in May 2000 and she was given dowry befitting the parental financial status but the bride-groom's side put forth demand of more dowry including gold chain and motor cycle and when the de­mand of more dowry could not be fulfilled, the accused persons subjected the deceased to brutal treatment and assault by way of physical beating. It is further stated that when the deceased happened to come back to her parental house, she unravelled the entire details of her ill-treatment at the hands of in-laws. Subsequently, the matter of ill treatment was taken up with the in-laws of the deceased who it is further al­leged, assured that ill-treatment would not be repeated and on their assurance, the de­ceased went to her matrimonial house. In between the period, the deceased gave birth to a baby child. On the day of Raksha Bandhan, when the deceased came to her parental house, she again gave out precise details of maltreatment and repeated inci­dent of beating and had articulated appre­hension that she could be done to death. On 10.9.2006, the accused persons mur­dered Urmila Devi and her daughter Soni and their bodies were thrown into adjacent village pond. In the morning, their bodies were found floating in the pond. It is al­leged that the information about the death was conveyed to her relative, Pappu Yadav. It is further alleged that upon re­ceiving the information, she rushed to the village Karnaipur alongwith her brother Kashi Prasad Yadav and other co villagers and witnessed that the body of her grand daughter Soni had already been fished out from the pond while the body of her daughter was told to be mired in the pond. It is alleged that the body of the deceased was fished out from the pond in the pres­ence of the police and subsequently, the bodies of the deceased were sent to funeral pyre for cremation.