SANTOSH PRAKASH JADHAO Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants were prosecuted for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 304-B, 201, 203 r/w Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and under Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act and in alternative under Section 306 r/w Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code in Sessions Case No. 93/2010 on the file of the learned Principal Sessions Judge, Buldana. By a judgment and order dated 30.4.2011, the appellants came to be convicted for the offences as charged. For the offence punishable under Section 302 r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code, the appellants have been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/- each, in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year. For the offence punishable under Section 304-B r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code, they have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/- each, in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one month. For the offence punishable under Section 201 r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code, they have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/- each and for the offence punishable under Section 203 r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code, they have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and lastly for the offence punishable under Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, they have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months and to pay a fine of Rs. 500/-, in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three months. Feeling aggrieved, the appellants have filed this appeal. The prosecution case may be briefly stated thus:

(2.) The incident in question is alleged to have occurred between 28.4.2010 and 29.4.2010, in which, according to the prosecution, the deceased was done to death by the appellants by smothering her and her dead body was disposed of in a well situated in the field of one Naresh Wankhede behind the house of the appellants. It appears that the appellant No. 1 lodged a complaint with Police Station, Amdapur of the deceased having gone missing. The dead body of Sharda was found in a well in the field of Naresh Wankhede, the following morning i.e. 29.4.2010 and on the basis of an information received in this regard, a case of accidental death being AD No. 19/2010 was registered. During investigation of the said case, an inquest panchanama of the dead body was drawn. It was sent for postmortem examination and the medical officer opined that the deceased had died on account of asphyxia due to smothering. It further appears that on the basis of a complaint lodged by P.W. 1 Manohar Shankhe, an offence under Sections 302, 304-B, 201, 203 r/w 34 of the Indian Penal Code and under Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act was registered. During the course of the investigation, the appellants came to be arrested. According to the prosecution, on the basis of confessional statement by the appellant No. 1, a pillow was recovered from the house of the appellants. The investigating officer recorded the statements of the witnesses, drew a spot panchanama of the house of the appellants and on completion of the investigation, a chargesheet came to be filed in the Court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class at Amdapur, which was committed to the Court of Sessions.

(3.) The learned Sessions Judge framed the charge for the offences as aforesaid to which the appellants pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried. The defence of the appellants, as elicited from the cross-examination and the statements under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, is that the deceased was short tempered and on account of this, there were quarrels and deceased had accidentally fallen in the well.