IMAM SAMSHER HAKIM Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal by accused Nos. 2 and 3, who have been convicted by the Additional Sessions Judge, Kolhapur, Under Sections 302, 397 and 449, all read with Section 34 of the I. P. C, They have been sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life, rigorous imprisonment for 7 years and rigorous imprisonment for 2 years respectively for the three offences, the substantive sentences being made to run concurrently. Along with them, accused Nos. 1 and 4 were also tried for the said three offences, but they were acquitted.

(2.) ACCUSED No. 2 Imam and accused No. 3 Mansur are brothers. They are the sons of accused No. 1 Shamsher. Accused No. 4 Badshah alias Babu is the brother of accused No. 1 Samsher. They are the second cousins of one Abdul Sultan Hakim, whose widow Chandbi is the victim of the offences. She was done to death at her house on the night between 7th and 8th July, 1975. She was suffocated to death and robbed of her ornaments which she was wearing. According to the prosecution, the accused had a motive to commit the offences. They had an eye on her property which was a share in house bearing C. T. S. No. 2483 in the City of Kolhapur. Accused No. 4 had brought into existence a forged Will (Ex. 86) and an agreement of gift (Ex. 109) purporting to have been executed by the deceased husband of Chandbi, He had also obtained a blank paper (Ex. 110) with the thumb mark of Chandbi for being used against her. On the basis, of the Will, which was in favour of accused No. 4, he had even tried to get the house mutated in his name. As the ornaments were removed from the body after committing the murder, robbery was also the motive for the murder. The deceased Chandbi was leaving all alone in her house. Her sister-in-law Chandbi (P. W. 21) went to her house on the morning of 8th July, 1975 and at that time, she found Chandbi lying dead with her hands tied and face covered. The police were informed. In due course, the offence was registered and investigated. The dead body was sent for post-mortem examination. Dr. (Miss) Shobha Nallutwar (P. W. 14), who performed the autopsy, came to the conclusion that the death of Chandbi was caused by asphyxia which was due to suffocation.

(3.) THERE was no direct evidence, in the sense that nobody had seen Chandbi being done to death and robbed of her ornaments. The prosecution relied upon three circumstances : (1) the accused had a motive to commit the murder of Chandbi (2) accused Nos. 1 to 3 were seen at a short distance from the scene of the offence about the time of the commission of the murder of Chandbi and (3) accused Nos. 2 and 3 had sustained injuries on their person which could have been caused by the nails of the victim during the struggle which she must have made to free herself from her assailants.