SHRIRAM Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant has been convicted of the offence punishable under S. 302 of the IPC by the Additional Sessions Judge, Buldana, for committing the murder of his two grand-daughters and one grand niece on 18/10/1985 at village Mundaphal, District Buldana.

(2.) THIS is one of the rare cases where the appellant has been found to have committed murder of his two grand-daughters Kalpna aged 4 years and Kavita aged 2 years, and one grand niece aged 11/2 months, apparently for no motive. The incident was reported almost immediately by the daughter of the appellant herself viz. Shobha (P. W. 3), whose two kids have been does to death. All the relevant details are stated in the first information report (P. W 21 ). Offence u/s. 302 of the IPC, was registered and the investigation started. Shobha (P. W. 3) was married in the year 1985 and was living at Hiwra, taluq Mehkar, District Buldana. She had come to her father's house at Mundaphal for delivery along with her two daughters Kalpna and Kavita. About 11/2 months before the date of the incident, viz, 18/10/1985 Shobha delivered a female child by name Savita. The members living in the house of the appellant were the appellant himself, his wife Kaushallya, his three sons Mahadeo, Parmeshwar (P. W. 4) and Devanand, and daughter Shobha (P. W. 3 ). One Sharda alias Bali aged 4 years - the daughter of the brother-in-law of the appellant was also living with him.

(3.) ON 18/10/1985 in the after-noon Shobha, her father appellant and the three girls, viz, Sharda, Kavita and Savita were in the house. The other members had gone for work in the field while the third son Parmeshwar had gone to attend the school. On the same day at about 4. 00 p. m. Shobha went to answer the call of nature a little away from the house and the only imnates in the house were the appellant and the three girls Sharda, Kavita and Savita. The appellant seeing that no elderly person was in the house closed the door from inside and started assaulting the three kids. In the meantime, Parmeshwar returned from the school. He found that the door of the house was closed from inside. He also heard cries coming from inside the house. He therefore, peeped into the house through the gaps of the door and saw that the appellant was hitting the girls with the handle of the grinding stone. He immediately rushed to find out Shobha. He, however, met Shobha on the street while she was returning after answering the call of nature. Parmeshwar narrated her the entire story. They both then ran towards the house. However, the door of the house was still closed from inside. When Shobha peeped into the house through the gaps of the doors, she saw that the appellant was hitting Sharda and Kavita with the handle of the grinding stone. She also saw that Savita was lying on the ground with injuries on the head and the brain had come out. Both Shobha and Parmeshwar asked the appellant to open the door. The door of the house was then opened and the appellant ran out of the house while dropping the handle in the house itself. Shobha and Parmeshwar entered the house and found that Savita was already dead; Kavita was lying with injuries and Sharda was crying. She also had an injury on the head. Seeing this scene, Shobha and Parmeshwar cried and shouted which attracted the several persons, viz, Nathu, Subhash, Madhukar and Narayan, who come to the house. They asked what had happened and Shobha told them that the appellant had hit the girls and ran away. Nathu and Madhukar took the two girls Sharda and Kavita to the dispensary. In the meantime, police also arrived on the spot, A. S. I, Chavan took Shobha with him in the Police Jeep to the Police Station where her complaint was recorded, which was treated as First Information Report (Ex. 21 ). It may be stated here that she has stated in the first information report that her father was getting fits of lunacy and it was in the state of lunacy that he killed the three kids. Out of the two girls, Kavita alias Laxmi expired on 19-10-1985 in the hospital and the other girl Sharda succumbed to her injury on the same day at 5-25 p. m.