GOPAL SHIVRAM KRISHNAN Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this appeal, the appellant has impugned the Judgment and Order dtd. 18/7/2012, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Sewree, Mumbai, in Sessions Case No.592 of 2011, convicting and sentencing him, as under:- - for the offence punishable under Sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code to suffer 'Life Imprisonment' and to pay a fine of Rs.10,000.00 in default, to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one year, for the murder of his mother and brother.

(2.) The factual matrix of the prosecution case in short, is as under :-

(3.) Mr. Hiremath, learned counsel for the appellant submitted that there is absolutely no evidence to connect the appellant with the offence. He submitted that the prosecution has not proved its case beyond reasonable doubt as against the appellant and that the learned trial Judge has convicted the appellant, only on the basis of the timings mentioned by the doctor i.e PW9 - Dr. Baban Tadvi, with respect to the probable time of death of the deceased and by relying on Sec. 106 of the Indian Evidence Act. He further submitted that the prosecution has not brought on record, evidence of last seen or motive for the appellant to cause the death of his mother and brother. He submitted that the trial Court has convicted the appellant on the basis of conjectures and surmises, despite there being no evidence to connect the appellant with the offence. He further submitted that the prosecution has failed to conclusively prove the time of death of the deceased. He further submitted that Exhibit - 28 cannot be relied upon in the absence of any substantive evidence having come on record with respect to the contents of Exhibit - 28. He submitted that it is not disputed by the prosecution, that the appellant had gone to work on 19/4/2011 at about 9:00 a.m. and had returned home at about 8:15 p.m. and as such having regard to the same, the possibility of somebody else committing the murders could not be ruled out.