ANGAD SAMSHERBAHADUR SINGH Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Appellant has challenged the judgment and order dtd. 26/12/2017 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Palghar in Sessions Case No.69/2013. The Appellant was convicted for commission of offence punishable under Sec. 302 of IPC and he was sentenced to suffer life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.10,000.00 and in default of payment of fine to suffer RI for six months. The Appellant was acquitted from the charges of commission of the offence punishable under Sec. 4 read with 25(1-B) of the Arms Act. The Appellant was given benefit of set-off under Sec. 428 of Cr.P.C.

(2.) Heard Mr. Yashodeep Deshmukh, learned counsel for the Appellant and Ms. Sharmila Kaushik, learned APP for the Respondent-State.

(3.) The prosecution case is that the deceased Kapildev and the Appellant were knowing each other. They were residing at Boisar. The Appellant had given some financial help to Kapildev. He was refusing to return the money. Therefore, the Appellant committed his murder. PW-4 Mohan Gupta and Ravinder Pal had gone to the room occupied by the Appellant on 16/6/2013 at about 3.25 p.m.. They saw that the Appellant was cutting the throat of Kapildev. They got scared. The Appellant threatened them. He told them to bring a gunny bag to dispose of the body. Taking advantage of his command, they left the place. They went outside the room and latched it from outside. They rushed to the police station. They gave information to the police. The police officers accompanied them to the room. They tried to open the door. It was also latched from inside. The police asked the Appellant, who was inside, to open the room. He opened the room. The police went inside the room and found that the deceased was beheaded. The head of the dead body was near the bathroom. There was a pool of blood. The Appellant was taken into custody. One of the police officers lodged his FIR vide C.R. No.I-88/2013 at Boisar police station. The Appellant was formally put under arrest at about 9.00 p.m.. At his instance, the knife was recovered from the same room. On the next day, at his instance, his underwear was recovered from the same room. The body was sent for postmortem examination. The seized articles were sent for chemical analysis. The statements of the witnesses were recorded and ultimately the charge-sheet was filed. The case was committed to the Court of Sessions.