DEO SINGH Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant Dec Singh has come up to this Court against his conviction and sentence on charges under sections 30 land 364, I P C. On the first count, he has been sentenced to imprisonment for life and on the second count to rigorous imprisonment for seven years. The order has been passed by Mr. Brahma Singh, the then IlIrd Additional Sessions Judge of Etawah on 25.9.1878. The learned Judge Was disposing of Sessions Trial No. 460 of 1977 of his Court.

(2.) Briefly stated, the facts of the matter are that one Shyam Sunder Singh (P.W. 2) resident of village, Kanspur Gugauli in district Fatehpur had three daughters namely Bholi (P.W. 3), Munni Devi and Binda Devi. All of them were married to different persons in the same village namely Chirhuli, which lies within the area of police station Auraiya of District Etawah Binda Devi is the deceased of this case. She was married to Deo Singh the present appellant. It is the prosecution suggestion-without any definite proof to that effect that Binda Devi was pregnant for the last about seven months and her father-in-law and mother-in-law suspected that the pregnancy was illegitimate. And for that reason they were angry with her and on that account her husband Deo Singh allegedly committed this murder. There is no direct evidence of murder in this case, but the facts and circumstances which have been brought on the record, are -said to suggest the fact of murder and the evidence is only circumstantial. It is said that some time in February, 1976 Deo Singh took Smt. Binda Devi by an Ekka from his house on the pretext that she was going to the house of her father Shyam Sunder Singh. They left village Chirhuli at about 8 or 9 a.m. in presence of Smt. Bholi (P.W. 3) and one neighbour Vishtam Singh (P.W. 10). Laxmi Narain was also present, but he has not been examined- It is said that Ekkawala Puttu Khan (P.W. 16) brought them in his Ekka alongwith other passengers from Bakewar Ekka stand to Daudpura Bamba Pulia, where they got down. On the way, the Ekka stopped at the octroi post known as Nahar wali chungi, where Babu Khan Pound Moharrir of Lakhana had a talk with Deo Singh, who gave out that he was going to the house of his mothers sister. Between 12 noon and 2 p.m. when Smt. Ram Beti (P.W. 11) of village Sajbia P.S. Chakarnagar, Distt. Etawah was returning from Lakhana market and came to Ghat of Kadhesi Haar to cross the Jamuna river, she accosted the accused-appellant and a woman accompanying him and had a talk with the woman. It is said that Smt. Binda Devi was the same woman, whose photograph was subsequently identified by Smt. Ram Beti. They all crossed the river Jamuna together in the same Boat. And in this manner they reached across Jamuna in village Kandhesi Haar, which lies with In the area of police station-Chakarnagar, about 1/2 furlong away from the Ghat. Under a Bargad tree P.W. 9 Pahalwan resident of village Kadhori Ka-Nagla was sitting when at about 2.30 p.m. or 2.4.5 p.m., a man and a lady got down from the Boat and passed from near this witness on the rasta towards the village- Kadhori-Ka-Nagla. He also identified the photograph (Ext. 14), on the hasis of which he is now definite to say that the lady was Smt. Binda Devi. He also identified in Jail in identification proceedings the accused appellants, as the person who was accompanying the lady. After passing through Kadhori-ka-Nagla, it appears that the murder was allegedly done some where enroute. And at about 7.30 p.m. the same day P.W.4 Banslal was approached in village-Nagla-Kadhori by the accused appellant of this case whom he had indentified in jail and the accused appellant asked him for a place to stay during the night, which was granted to him. He stayed in the night at the house of Banslal (P.W. 4) and early in the next morning at about 7 a.m. he left. At that time the lady was not present with him.

(3.) It appears that Binda Devi was murdered somewhere in district-Bhind (Madhya Pradesh). Her father came to know of her dis-appearance along with her husband and therefore, Shyam Sunder made some enquiries in the village and then lodged the First Information Report Ext. Ka-l at police station Auraiya on 13.5.1976 at 1245 p.m. A case under sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code was registered. Sub-Inspector Lal Singh (PW. 13) started investigation and recorded statements of Shyam Sunder and Vishram Singh and others. He came to Etawah and recorded the statement of Girja Shanker, Reader of the Circle Officer, Chakarnagar and from him he came to obtain photograph Ext. 14 which he showed to Shyam Sunder and when Shyam Sunder recognised it to be the photograph of his daughter Binda Devi, Lal Singh (P. W. 13) asked him to approach the police of Chakarnagar, as the offence related to that police station.