PARASHRAM BAPU GAIKWAD Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal takes exception to the conviction and sentence recorded against the appellants for the commission of offences punishable u/ss. 302 and 201 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) APPELLANT No. 1 Parashram is the husband of P. W. 2 Changunabai and this couple had three sons - two being appellants Gulab and Datta and the third being the victim Daula alias Daulat. The family was residing in one house situated at Lokhandewadi, a village of Taluka Shrigonda in district Ahmednagar. Adjacent to the said house lives complainant P. W. 1 Dadaram with his four sons, a wife and other members of the said family. Gulab and Datta are married while Daula was of marriageable age. P. W. 5 Bapu Bhujbal has a daughter by the name of Changuna and some four months prior to 25-3-1987, a deputation had been despatched to the house of Bapu bhujbal to negotiate the engagement of Daula to Changuna. The groom's side wanted a dowry of rs. 15,000/- to Rs. 20,000/- and the farthest that Bapu Bhujbal was prepared to go was a sum of rs. 3,000/- plus the liability to bear the entire expenses connected with the marriage. This was not acceptable to the groom's side and those who had gone to negotiate the betrothal including appellant Gulab, returned back. Gulab informed his father Parashram, Daula and others of the break-down of the negotiations. Daula had taken a fancy for Bapu Bhujbal's daughter and he went on his own with P. W. 3 Raskar to Bapu Bhujbal's house. With Bapu Bhujbal, Daula entered into a commitment to have the marriage celebrated at his home in Lokhandewadi - the only liability of Bapu Bhujbal being to make over Rs. 10,000/- to Daulat which sum would take care of everything i. e. cash presents plus expenses to be incurred for the wedding ceremony. After settling this deed, Daula informed the appellants and his mother P. W. 2 Changunabai of what he had done. While his mother sympathised with the boy's feelings, the appellants were furious. They considered the commitment given by him over their heads an imprudent and also an impertinent act. Both sides i. e. , the appellants and Daula expressed their feelings to each other in strong and intemperate language and the frequency of such exchanges increased.

(3.) ON the night of 25-3-1987, the appellants and the other members of the family took dinner at the usual time and the members of the family went out to sit in their assigned places. Daula returned that night a bit late. His mother Changunabai when asked to serve him the dinner, pleaded laziness and asked Daula to take out the required dishes for himself. Daula did so and sat down to dinner somewhere near the place where his mother was lying down. The two conversed and after the meal was over, Daula went out to sleep in the court-yard of the home which court-yard has or is near a well. At that time, Dadaram was sleeping in his own court-yard and a light was burning near the well. At about 11 p. m. , Dadaram was woken up by a heated exchange between the appellants on the one side and Daula on the other. The exchange was in relation to the alleged indiscretion of Daula in pruning down the dowry to the insignificant figure of Rupees 10,000/- which sum could not suffice for marriage in the caste to which the family belonged viz. , the Mali caste. Daula made it clear that he would marry Bapu Bhujbal's daughter and none else. The appellants raised the bogey of the girl being possessed by evil spirits, but to no avail. The adamant attitude of Daula infuriated the appellants. Parashram by word directed Datta to teach daula a lesson. Datta picked up a stone lying nearby and struck Daula on the face. Parashram contributed his mite by striking Daula on the head with the iron bar in his hand. Daula fell down and must have died instantaneously. The raised voices had attracted the attention of not only dadaram and P. W. 2 Changunabai but also some others. These others came on the scene hearing the weeping and wailing of the mother. The appellants resented what they construed as the unwanted intrusion of outsiders in a realm which did not concern them. They gave expression to this feeling and that was enough to drive away Dadaram and the others assembled at the spot, except Changunabai who kept up the breast-beating - she having lost a favourite son. The appellants knowing the Daula had passed away, wrapped up the corpse in the quilt used as a mattress or a coverlet by Daula when alive. The bundle was carried and dumped into a well located in the field of Dadaram. Dadaram was warned against disclosing the happenings to the police or anyone else. The threats deterred him till about evening of 26-3-1987. Dodging the appellants, Dadaram made his way to the Shrigonda Police Station and there lodged a report which is at Exhibit 12. An offence was registered and the investigation taken up by P. S. I. Jawale (P. W. 10 ). In the course of the investigation, Jawale recorded statements of various persons, had the corpse of Daula taken out from the well in which it had been thrown by the appellants, arranged to send the corpse for a post-mortem examination to the Primary Health Centre at shrigonda and in pursuance of information given by the appellants, attached odds and ends. Investigation over, a charge-sheet was lodged in the court of the J. M. F. C. Shrigonda. That learned Magistrate, after the usual enquiry, committed the appellants to stand trial in the sessions Court at Ahmednagar.