NARAYAN NAGU GOPALE Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant aggrieved with the judgment and order dated 8-9-1994 passed by Additional Sessions Judge, Pune, in Sessions Case No. 465 of 1992, convicting and sentencing him to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 100/- in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one month for the offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, has come up in appeal before us.

(2.) SHORTLY stated the prosecution case runs as under :-Deceased Ranjana was the wife of the appellant. She was married to the appellant about ten years prior to the incident. She stayed with him for three years. Thereafter she went to her fathers house and did not return for four years. Hence the appellant married one Laxmibai from whom three daughters were born. However, on account of dispute between her and the appellant, she went away. Thereafter the appellant brought back Ranjana to his house. He took her to Bombay and spent some time with her there. About a week prior to the incident the appellant and Ranjana came to village Kalamode in Taluka Khed to attend the fair of Rokadenath. They stayed in the house of Nagu Gopale, PW. 3 (the father of the appellant ). On the date of incident, namely the night of 16/17th April 1992, they slept in a room inside Nagu Gopales house. Nagu Gopale along with his wife slept in the Court yard in front of the house. Since it was previously decided that all of them would attend the fair of Rokadenath, Nagu Gopale woke up at about 4. 00 a. m. He gave a call to the appellant who opened the door of the room wherein he was sleeping. He saw that there was blood on the person of Ranjana and the appellant was present there. He shouted. Hearing his shouts a large number of persons, including Shivram Dagadu Gopale, came. Shivaram Dagadu Gopale went to Ankush Gopale (PW 4), the police patil and informed him about the incident. Thereafter Ankush Gopale came to Nagu Gopales house. By that time the sarpanch had also come there. He along with the Sarpanch entered inside the house of Nagu Gopale and found that Ranjana was lying dead on the quilt spread on the floor. He also saw that the appellant was sitting there. He asked him what had happened to which the appellant replied that it happened.

(3.) THEREAFTER Ankush Gopale went home; took bath; went to Wada Police Out Post which was situated at a distance of 20/25 kilometers; and gave information. The evidence of A. S. I. Chintamani Joshi (PW 8) shows that the information about the death of Ranjana conveyed by Ankush Gopale was reduced into writing by him on 17-4-1992. On the said information a case of accidental death was registered. A. S. I. Joshi went to the place of incident and made preliminary inquiry. He prepared a panchanama of the corpse of the deceased and seized blood stained quilt and scrapings of plain and blood stained soil under a panchanama Exhibit 31. He found that the appellant was present near the corpse. A. S. I. Joshi then prepared the F. I. R. and sent it to the police station. On the basis of the F. I. R. an offence was registered vide C. R. No. 33/92. The same day A. S. I. Joshi arrested the appellant who was putting on a blood stained underwear. He seized the same under a panchanama. The appellant was taken to the Khed Police Station. During the course of interrogation the appellant expressed his willingness to get the weapon, namely an axe, recovered. He recorded the said willingness under a panchanama in the presence of public panch Prabhakar Gopale (PW 5 ). Thereafter he along with the said public panch and the appellant went to the house of the appellant where the appellant opened the door of his house and from behind the tin boxes in a room, took out a blood stained axe. The said axe was seized under a panchanama, Exhibit 38. During investigation, the blood stained clothes of the deceased, the blood stained underwear of the appellant and the blood stained axe recovered on his pointing out were sent to the Chemical Analyst. On 20-4-1992 A. S. I. Chintamani Joshi (PW 8) handed over the investigation to P. S. I. Madhukar Mote (PW9 ). He sent the appellant to the doctor for extraction of his blood. The doctor took out appellants blood and sent it to him. He in turn sent the same to the Chemical Analyst. He also recorded the statement of Shanitaram Gopale (PW 7 ). On 12-8-1992 P. S. I. Mote submitted the chargesheet against the appellant.