GAYABAI ALIAS JIJI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant was charged with commission of offence of killing her infant child under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and also under section 201. She was committed by the learned Magistrate and stood her trial before the learned Sessions Judge, Parbhani in Sessions Case No. 93 of 1980. The learned Sessions Judge found her guilty under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced her to suffer imprisonment for life by his judgment and order dated 13th February 1981. The appellant appeals to this Court against the said order of conviction and sentence.

(2.) A few facts which are not in dispute may be stated as follows. The appellant is a widow residing in a village named Shrishti in Parbhani district. The said village is within the jurisdiction of Ashti Police Station and is about 13 Kms. away from Ashti. On 23rd August 1980, one Bapu Ashruba, Kotwal and resident of that village, gave an information to the police station as follows :- That on 23-8-1980, at 7 O'clock, while he was going for easing to- wards river saw a dead body of a newly born female child He went near and saw that the mouth and head was eaten by dog. The child was just born. He inquired in the village, but nobody told who had thrown that child. He opined that the child was e,ther born from illicit connection or might have been thrown away or the child must have been thrown away for hiding the birth Saying this, he gave this information to the police station which was recorded by the concerned Police Station Officer who is wxamined as PW No. 6 in this case. This omplaint is

(3.) The prosecution story unfolded by this information and other evidence of two prosecution witnesses, that is, Dwarkabai(Pw No 1) and annapurna(pw no.2),who are the daugthers of the acused, is as That on the night of Friday, the 22nd August 1980. the appellant delivered a female child when PW No. 1 was also preset and PW No. 2 came there within a short time After the appellant delivered a child, which was a female child, within a few hours she carried that child to a place nearby dunghill and caused death of that child by dashing that child against the stone and buried the said child.