BAPURAO IRBHAN TAYADE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN Session Trial No. 156/1995, the 3rd Additional Sessions Judge, Akola, by his judgment and order dated 31-7-1996, convicted the appellant for having committed offence punishable under section 302 of I. P. C. and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 100/- in default to undergo further imprisonment for two weeks. The appellant has appealed against his conviction.

(2.) IN nutshell, the prosecution case is that on 16-6-1995, at about 3 p. m, the appellant committed murder of his wife Sau. Lalita, by means of "gandas" (weapon used for cutting sugarcane), in the hut where they were residing, which was situated in the field of Advocate Gattani at Village Deothana within the jurisdiction of Police Station, Akot. After committing the said offence, the appellant-accused Bapurao Irbhan Tayade went to the Police Station, Akot and lodged the report Exhibit 22 on the basis of which the police registered offence under section 302 I. P. C. , vide Crime No. 157 of 1995 against the appellant-accused for having committed murder of his wife. P. S. I. Digambar Bhagat (P. W. 9) was on duty at the Police Station, when the accused lodged report Exhibit 22. He entrusted the case for further investigation to P. S. I. Pralhad Rathod (P. W. 10 ). P. S. I. Rathod visited the place of occurrence and in the presence of panchas, he prepared inquest panchanama Exhibit 9 and also drew the panchanama of the scene of offence where the dead body of Lalita was lying. The dead body of Lalita was sent for postmortem examination. Police also seized certain Articles and prepared the panchanama Exhibit 15. On that day itself, the appellant-accused came to be arrested. The police seized clothes which were on the person of the accused in the Police Station in presence of the panchas i. e. trouser (Article 5) and shirt (Article 6), under the seizure memo Exhibit 29. On 18-6-1995, on the information given by the appellant accused, the police seized "gandasa" (Article 7) vide seizure memo Exhibit 31. In the course of investigation, the police recorded the statement of witnesses including the statement of the parents of the deceased. Articles seized were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory. On completion of the investigation, charge-sheet was filed in the Court which was committed for trial to the Court of Sessions. The key issue in the case is whether the accused can be found guilty on the basis of the first information report lodged by him.

(3.) MR. Thakkar, the learned Counsel appearing for the appellant-accused submitted that the learned trial Court has heavily relied upon the first information report lodged by the appellant in order to hold him guilty of having committed murder of his wife. It is submitted that there is no other evidence to show the complicity of the appellant-accused and as the report lodged by the appellant-accused is inculpatory in nature, it is hit by sections 24 to 30 of the Indian Evidence Act and cannot be admitted in evidence as confession and, therefore, the appellant-accused deserves to be acquitted.