ANGNU Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by Angnu from jail. He has been found guilty under Sec. 309 I. P. C. as also under Sec. 302 I. P. C. and has been sentenced to 3 months' simple imprisonment under Sec. 309, I.P.C. and to life imprisonment under Sec. 302 I. P. C. The sentences under both counts have been ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) The accused has been charged for the murder of his own son Jagdamba alias Algu, aged 10 years, and his daughter Kumari Prema, aged 5 or 6 years. The accused used to live in village Darabganj within Police Circle Kotwali, District Faizabad. He was married to one Smt. Narain Dei and the two children were born to him from her. Narain Dei was of easy virtue. It is said that she left the house of her husband several times and eloped with different men on each occasion. About a month before the occurrence she ran away with another man leaving her children in the house. While going away she removed all the ornaments and other belongings from the house. The accused was in very straitened circumstances and lived by doing odd jobs at various places. Sometimes he and his children had to go without meals because there was no other source of income to the family. It is said that when his wife left him on this occasion he became completely upset and lost his balance. Finding that he was not able to support himself and his children he decided to end his life and also to murder his children. With this object in view he is said to have left his house at about 2 A.M. on the 14th of Oct. 1957 and jumped into a well along with his two children. The well was situated at a distance of 25 or 30 paces from the house of the accused. It was at a short distance, from the abadi of the village by the side of the road. It had been out of use for a number of years and its water was not even used for irrigation purposes. The prosecution case is that at about 2-30 A.M. when some villager was going along the rasta by the side of the well he heard the voice of a man coming from inside the well. It was a moonlit night. The villagers were informed about the matter and they immediately came to the well and peeped into it and enquired as to what the matter was. It is alleged that Angnu appellant, who was inside the well, disclosed his identity. Ram Jag P. W. 3 then brought a rope and basket from the village and took out Angnu from the well. Angnu was, in his senses at that time. On being asked by the people who had gathered at the well he told them that he had deliberately thrown himself into the well along with his children because he could not support himself and his children and wanted to put an end to his life as also the lives of his children. The basket was then lowered into the well and two dead bodies were taken out from it. It appears that the two children had died of drowning. Ram Dular P. W. 2 then rushed to the police station Kotwali and made a report of the occurrence in the early morning of the 14th of Oct. 1957. All the facts leading to the discovery of Angnu and his two dead children in the well were fully recited and it was also stated that the accused had made an extra-judicial confession to the persons who had assembled at the well by stating that he along with his son and daughter had jumped into the well in order to put an end to their lives. The report further went on to say that the informant along with P.Ws. Ram Jag, Jagannath, Rameshwar Das, Kashi Prasad and others had reached the well on being informed that someone was crying for help from inside the well. It was further mentioned in the report that P.W. Chandu Lal had seen the accused going along with his children at about 2 o'clock in the night and that on being asked by Chandu Lal he had told the latter that he was going out to answer the call of nature. The Second Officer, Sri Hamidullah Khan P.W. 7, was present at the police station when the report was lodged. He immediately proceeded to the scene of occurrence and held the inquest over the two dead bodies and sent them to the mortuary for post-mortem examination. The investigating Officer prepared a site plan of the well. He took the rope and the basket into his custody and handed them over the supurdgi of Ram Jag P.W. Thereafter he recorded the statements of the witnesses.

(3.) The post-mortem examination on the two dead bodies was conducted by Dr. S. S. Misra, Civil Surgeon, Faizabad, on the 14th of Oct. 1957 between 4-30 P. M. and 5 P. M. His opinion was that death of the persons was due to asphyxia because of drowning.