SHANKAR CHIMA SHINGE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Being aggrieved by the judgment and conviction passed by the Additional Sessions Judge in Sessions Case No. 331 of 1985 convicting the sole accused under Sec. 302 of Indian Penal Code to suffer imprisonment for life, this appeal has been preferred on the ground mentioned in the memo of appeal as also verbally canvassed before us.

(2.) With the assistance of Mrs. S.D. Khot advocate appointed to defend the accused/appellant, and Additional P.P. Mrs. Kejariwal, we have scrutinised the record and re-appreciated the evidence on record, on the basis of which the learned trial Judge passed the order of conviction.

(3.) The prosecution story as revealed by the evidence scrutinised by us is that in the early morning of 15th March 1985 information was received in the police station, Kandivali that there is a suspected death caused in the hospital. The police officials therefore went to the hospital and found a dead body of a woman which was identified as of Smt. Muktabai, wife of the present accused/appellant, who was also present in the hospital at that time. On the basis of this report, the investigation was commenced and the accused/appellant was prosecuted for murder of his wife. The death it was alleged, was caused by strangulation using a nylon rope. The prosecution has examined eight witnesses in support of its case. There is no eye witness and the entire case stood on circumstantial evidence. Another fact which is to be kept in mind is that the incident of March 1985 and the matter was pending in Kandivali police station. Thereafter there was change of police station and the record was missing for quite sometime. It was reconstructed in the year 1999 and trial was held in that year, resulting in conviction of the appellant as aforesaid. The entire evidence is therefore reconstructed evidence and it has to be appreciated with that aspect in mind. The main basis for conviction as found by the trial Judge is alleged extra judicial confession made by the accused before his relations and other confession made to police officials which is inadmissible.