STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. GAJANAN CHINTMAN RUIKAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN Sessions trial No. 51/2002, the learned Ad hoc Sessions Judge, Washim by his judgment and order dated 19th September, 2003 finding the appellant/accused guilty of having committed an offence punishable under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, convicted and sentenced him to suffer death by hanging. The learned trial Court having awarded this sentence in the matter also made a reference to this Court for its confirmation. The appellant appealed against his conviction. Therefore, we propose to dispose of this appeal filed by the appellant along with the confirmation case.

(2.) THE facts were these:-The appellant got married to Sarika on 7th April, 2000. Thereafter Sarika the deceased went to cohabit with the appellant/accused at his residence at nimba. The appellant was earning his livelihood by working as a carpenter as well as cultivation of his agricultural land. As per the custom, deceased Sarika went to her parents house on account of Akhadi festival and thereafter she was brought back by the appellant/accused and his mother. Sarika resided at Nimba for a period of 15 days. Thereafter, it appears that the appellant/ accused along with Sarika went to his sister's place at Birsingpur in Madhya pradesh. On her return she visited her parent's place. During this time, Sarika complained to her mother Mainabai (P. W. 6) that the appellant/accused was ill-treating her and torturing her and used to beat her as he suspected her chastity. Mainabai (P. W. 6) tried to persuade the appellant/accused to treat her well. In the meantime, the appellant /accused got employment in a Wine bar at Akola. After about 5 to 6 months, Shantabai (P. W. 5) mother of the appellant/accused came to Mainabai's house where Sarika was residing and took Sarika with her. It is the prosecution case that though Sarika was not willing to return to her in-law's place and reside with the appellant/accused, she was persuaded to do so and immediately thereafter when Sarika returned to her in-law's place she was found dead in her matrimonial home. The first person who happened to know this fact was Gajanan Rajaram Kalbande (P. W. 1) who was working as a domestic servant with the appellant/accused. On 20-9-2001 when Gajanan (P. W. 1) returned to the house of the appellant/ accused after taking meals, he found nobody was present in the house of the appellant/accused and Sarika was found murdered and her dead body was lying in one room of the house in a pool of blood and her head was severed from the body and few people have gathered in the house of the appellant/ accused. From there Gajanan (P. W. 1) went to the house of the Police Patil who took him to Dhanaj Police Station and lodged report (Exh. 18) which came to be treated as F. I. R. (Report Exh. 9 ). On getting information, Digamber jairamsing Chavan (P. W. 9), who was at the relevant time attached to Dhanah police Station, reduced the report given by Gajanan (P. W. 1) into writing and registered an offence punishable under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code against the appellant/accused. He then visited the spot of incident i. e. the house of the accused at village Nimba and prepared the scene of offence panchnama (Exh. 21) in presence of the panchas viz. Anil Alone (P. W. 2) and sahebrao Sabne (P. W. 3 ). He also seized certain articles from the spot vide seizure panchnama Exh. 22 and further prepared inquest panchnama Exh. 23. A. P. I. , Chavan (P. W. 9) found the head of the wife of the appellant/accused i. e. Sarika severed from her body. The body of Sarika was lying in the pool of blood and head was lying in the door of the house of the appellant/ accused. He also notice blood foot prints in the room of the appellant/accused and blood sprinkled on the wooden stool, plastic bag and floor of the house and few broken pieces of bangles, mangalsutra of Sarika also. After preparing three panchnamas, A. P. I. , Chavan (P. W. 9) sent the body of Sarika to the Rural Hospital, Karanja for post-mortem.

(3.) ACCORDING to the prosecution, the appellant/accused surrendered himself in the Police Station on the next day morning and therefore, he came to be arrested under the arrest panchnama (Exh. 37 ). On his arrest, the Investigating Officer seized the clothes of the appellant/accused, which according to him were stained with blood, under the panchnama (Exh. 26 ). During the course of investigation, the appellant/accused volunteered to show the place where "vasla" has been concealed by him and, therefore, in presence of panchas the police recorded the memorandum panchnama (Exh. 27) Thereafter, the appellant/accused led them to the field of one Sarda on Bhamdevi Dhanaj road and unearthed Vasla from the standing crop of pegion peas. A. P. I. , chavan, therefore, prepared seizure panchnama (Exh. 28), A. P. I. , Chavan also seized sari of mother of the appellant/accused viz. Shantabai which was found stained with blood under seizure panchnama (Exh. 29) and obtained thumb impression of Shantabai on the panchnama. In the course of investi gation, he recorded the statement of the witnesses including that of Shantabai (P. W. 5) mother of the appellant/accused, Mainabai Ruikar (P. W. 6), Muktabai (P. W. 7), Dipak Ugle (P. W. 8} and so on. On receipt of ornaments and clothes of Sarika from the Medical Officer through Police Constable Vijay and also viscera in bottle, he seized them from the Police Constable Vijay under the panchnama (Exh. 41) and sent all the articles seized in the investigation of the case to the Chemical Analyser and sent the blood stained Vasla to the Forensic Laboratory for analysis. Then the Investigating Officer also arranged to have the photographs of blood foot prints on the spot, foot impression of the appellant/accused, his mother and father and sent it to forensic laboratory for his opinion. On receipt of the post-mortem report (Exh. 30), C. A. Reports (Exhs. 44 and 45), and on completing the investigation, he filed charge-sheet against the appellant/accused.