PRAKASH SURYAKANT LAD Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this appeal, appellant/convicted accused is challenging the judgment and order dated 15th March 2012 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Sindhudurg, Oros, convicting him of the offence punishable under Sections 302 and 506 of the IPC. For the offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC, the appellant/accused is sentenced to suffer life imprisonment and for the offence punishable under Section 506 of the IPC, he is sentenced to pay fine of Rs.100/-, in default, to undergo simple imprisonment for seven days.

(2.) Shorn off unnecessary details, case of the prosecution as reflected from the police report is thus :

(3.) According to the prosecution case, on 23rd February 2011, after finishing her work with the bank, deceased Sadhana returned to her house at Lingdal at about 2.00 p.m. The appellant/accused who was present in the house then started quarreling with her and assaulting her with stick. When informant PW1 Pratiksha attempted to intervene for saving her mother Sadhana from the assault, the appellant/accused threatened to beat her and therefore she was compelled to go out of the house with her small child. The episode of assault and quarrel lasted upto 8 p.m. The accused then came out of the house and therefore PW1 Pratiksha entered in the house to find her mother Sadhana lying on the ground. She made her to sleep on the bed after changing her clothes. In the next morning, when PW1 Pratiksha attempted to wake up her mother Sadhana, she found that Sadhana is not responding to her calls. Therefore, she called her neighbours including her uncle PW5 Shantaram. They all found Sadhana dead and as such police were called. On the spot itself PW6 Jaysing Yadav, P.I. Devgad Police Station, recorded FIR of PW1 Pratiksha and sent it to the police station for registration of the offence. Accordingly, Crime No.7 of 2011 for the offence punishable under Sections 302 and 506 of IPC came to be registered against the appellant/accused and the wheels of investigation were set in motion. Ultimately, charge-sheet came to be filed and after due trial, the appellant/accused was found guilty and therefore he was convicted and sentenced as stated in the opening paragraph of this judgment.