STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. ARUN SAVALARAM PAGARE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This State appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 16th July, 1980 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Greater Bombay (Shri Y.N. Athalye), in Sessions Case No. 72 of 1979 whereby he acquitted the respondent-accused of the offence of murder and convicted him of the offence under the second part of section 304 I.P.C. and sentenced him to suffer R.I. for three and a half years.

(2.) The prosecution case lies in a very narrow compass. The respondent-accused, aged about 30 years, was married to deceased Bharati about two years before the date of the incident which took place on 9th October, 1978. The accused was working as a hamal at Wadi Bunder in the Central Railways and the deceased was serving as a teacher in a municipal school at Kurla. He was addicted to liquor and he often demanded money from his wife for feeding his vice and on that account there used to be quarrels between the husband and the wife. About three days before the date of the incident the accused had driven out the deceased from his house. Therefore, she had been to the house of her maternal uncle and resided there. On the morning of 9th October, 1978 the father of the accused had been to the house where the deceased resided with her maternal uncle and asked her why she did not reside with her husband. Thereupon the deceased told him that the accused beat her under influence of drinks. The deceased had been to the school on 9th October, 1978 and while she was returning from the school the accused contacted her and they had exchange of words. Soon thereafter the accused assaulted the deceased with a knife and gave a number of blows on her body. The deceased shouted for help. At that time Parashuram Bhagoji Gawade (P.W. 7) and Sundar Vasant Tribhuvan (P.W. 12) who were returning from Matunga Railway Station, heard the cries of a lady for help. They rushed in that direction and saw the accused stabbing the deceased with a knife. The accused after stabbing the deceased left the place. When Parashuram and Sundar approached the deceased, who was lying in a pool of blood with stab injuries, Parashuram was told that her husband stabbed her. The deceased gave the address of her relation Mrs. Sushila Vinayak Adangale (P.W. 1) and asked Parashuram to go to the house of Sushila and bring her to her. Thereupon Parashuram went to Sushila and narrated her about the incident and told her that the deceased required her. Thereupon Sushila went to the place where the deceased was lying injured. Miss Pushpa Mahadev Jadhav (P.W. 5) also followed her. When Sushila and Pushpa reached the place and asked the deceased as to what had happened she was not in a position to speak. They noticed that one of her ear-rings and the mangalsutra were missing from her person.

(3.) Sushila (P.W. 1) and Pusha (P.W. 5) took the injured Bharati to Sion Hospital. At the Sion Hospital Sushila narrated to the police constable on duty there as to what had happened. The police constable contacted Dharavi Station Police. P.S.I. Sitaram Raghunath Kapase (P.W. 19) who received the telephone message, arrived at the hospital. He found that Bharati was not in a position to make a statement. He recorded the F.I.R. Ex. 5 of Sushila. The injured Bharati had already breathed her last. Therefore, an offence under section 302 I.P.C. was registered against her husband the respondent-accused. Dr. Miss Anjali Peter Alvares (P.W. 17) had examined the deceased at 7 p.m. on her admission at the Sion Hospital. Dr. Kailashchandra Banshilal Agrawal (P.W. 13) held autopsy on the dead body on the deceased on 10th October, 1978 at 10.50 a.m. He found as many as 12 incised wounds on the body of the deceased. His post -mortem notes are at Ex. 25.