GAJANAN ALIAS GAJANAND Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this appeal preferred under Section 374 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure the accused/appellant (hereinafter referred to as 'the accused') has called in question the legal tenability of the judgment of conviction and the order of sentence passed by the learned IInd Additional Sessions Judge in S. T. No. 108/93 whereby he has been convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (in short 'the IPC) and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprison- ment for life.

(2.) BRIEFLY stated the prosecution case is that on 22-8-1992 when Dilip (P. W. 4) was going alongwith his friend Sunil near a 'nala' they saw that the accused Gajanan was assaulting his wife, Chhabbobai, with knife and the agonized woman was screaming loudly. Hearing her cry many a person arrived at the spot to save her. On arrival of other persons the accused took to his heels. It was noticed by the witnesses that Chhabbobai had been inflicted blows with knife on her face, waste region, hands and some other parts of the body and she was bleeding profusely. Sunil was asked to inform the police and Chhabbobai was carried to the police station and thereafter to the hospital. Dilip lodged an FIR (Ex. P-7) wherein he had stated that there was a scuffle between the accused and his wife and she had been injured. Chhabbobai breathed her last in the hospital. The accused was arrested and while in custody he led to the discovery of the knife which he had used in the crime. The investigating agency prepared the panchnama vide Ex. P-l, seized wearing apparel of the accused which were stained with blood as per Ex. P-12, sent the same for serological examination at Calcutta as per Ex. P-22. After completing the investigation the investigating agency placed the charge-sheet before the learned Magistrate who in turn committed the matter to the Court of Session. Trial was conducted and learned Sessions Judge found that the prosecution had been able to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted him as has been indicated herein- above.

(3.) THE accused abjured his guilt and pleaded false implication. The accused had also taken a plea that he had gone to Nagpur on that day and after coming back from Nagpur, next day he was arrested by the police. It has also been pleaded by the accused that house owner Bhimrao had got his wife murdered.