VINOD Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this Revision, the applicant has questioned the validity, legality, propriety and correctness of the judgment and order of conviction dated 23.8.2007 convicting the Appellant passed by the learned Adhoc Additional Sessions Judge, Achalpur in Criminal Appeal No. 2/2003 arsing from judgment and order of conviction in Sessions trial No. 74/2001 decided by 3rd Adhoc Additional Sessions Judge, Achalpur on 23.12.2002 whereby the revision applicant was convicted of offence punishable under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code ( in short "IPC") and was sentenced to suffer R.I. for seven years and to pay a fine in the sum of Rs. 1,000/in default, to suffer RI for three months.

(2.) The facts in brief are that, the revision applicant on or about 4.10.1999 at about 3.30 p.m. went to the house of first informant opal Janrao Akatkar and knocked the door. When his sister Pushpa Janrao Akatkar opened the door, the revision applicant had dragged her out of the house and stabbed her on her back side of the head and ear thereby causing incised wounds. With the result, she fell unconscious. She was taken by the first informant to Rural Hospital, Daryapur. The complaint was lodged at Daryapur Police Station. The cause of incident was that the applicant had a love affair with Pushpa (the injured) who had conceived a female child out of said relationship. The revision applicant was also prosecuted for alleged offence of rape; but was held not guilty and acquitted of the offence of rape. According to prosecution, the victim Pushpa insisted upon revision applicant to marry with her and accept the female child conceived from the applicant. Enraged by this, the applicant decided to do away with Pushpa and attempted to commit murder of her on 4.10.1999 at about 15.30 hours, at village Shivala by visiting her house. The prosecution had led evidence of victim Pushpa (PW 5 ), along with other 12 witnesses in order to prove the prosecution case. The learned trial Judge believed the case of the prosecution that PW 5 Pushpa Akatkar had love affair with the accused and prior to the incident of her attempted murder. Pushpa had insisted the accused shall marry with her as she was pregnant from him. She had even attempted to commit suicide by jumping into the well when the accused had flatly refused to marry with her. The accused, however, disowned her as well as her child. Though he was prosecuted for offence punishable under Section 376 IPC, he was acquitted of the offence of rape as according to the prosecution case, Pushpa had showed her willingness to compound the offence if the accused agreed to marry with her but the accused had different object in his mind and decided to end the life of Pusha by means of knife repeatedly assaulting her. Fortunately, she was taken to the Hospital and was saved. It is case of the prosecution that her dying declaration was also recorded by Special Executive Magistrate. It appears that the learned trial Judge did consider the medical evidence in respect of incised wounds as deposed by Dr. Manoj Nichat (PW 9). Apart from evidence of other witnesses led by the prosecution including direct evidence that of Pushpa (PW 5), the trial Court believed the prosecution case that the accused had attempted to kill her by means of knife on the day of the incident. In the result, the learned trial Judge convicted the revision applicant for offence punishable under Section 307 IPC and sentenced him to suffer RI for seven years and to pay a fine in the sum of Rs. 1000/in default, to suffer further RI for three months.

(3.) The convict accused/revision applicant had challenged the decision by filing Criminal Appeal No. 2/2003 which was decided by the learned Adhoc Additional Sessions Judge, Achalpur (Court No. 2), on 23.8.2007 by confirming the conviction of the revision applicant for offence punishable Under Section 307 IPC and dismissed the appeal, by a well reasoned judgment.