BIDYUT KANTI DAS Vs. STATE OF TRIPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant was charged under Sections 494, 495, 302, 203 and 201 of the IPC for contracting marriage during subsistence of a legal marriage for contracting the subsequent marriage by concealing the former marriages for causing murder of one Bithika Barman on 19.03.2015 at about 9 p.m. near Salbagan Tri-junction on Chanmari-Salbagan biy-pass road under NCC Police Station for giving false information respecting the offence knowing or having reason to believe such information to be false and for causing disappearance of evidence and giving false information to screen the offender. After a regular trial, the appellant has been convicted under Section 302 and 203 of the IPC and he has been acquitted from the charges under Sections 494, 495 and 201 of the IPC by the judgment dated 09.02.2018 delivered in S.T.(T-1) 50 of 2015.

(2.) Pursuant to the said judgment, the appellant has been sentenced by the order dated 13.02.2018 to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay fine of Rs.20,000/- with default stipulation for commission of offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC and further, to suffer rigorous imprisonment for two years for commission of offence punishable under Section 203 of the IPC. By means of this appeal, the said judgment and order of conviction and sentence have been challenged.

(3.) Genesis of the prosecution can be located in the oral complaint [Exbt.22] filed by the appellant himself on 19.03.2015 by revealing that on 19.03.2015, in the evening at around 6/45 p.m., he started his journey to reach the house of Bithika's younger sister travelling by Bithika's scooty from Amtali. While they had reached near Salbagan along the road running by the side of the office of the Rubber Board via Khayerpur, one Sujit Kumar Pal, an Assistant Professor of NIT, along with Dipankar Nath Bhowmik [contractor], Dilwar Hossain [resident of Village Jaypur at Agartala], another Dilwar Hossain [resident of Biterban], one Tanmoy Das [an engineer of the Housing Board] and Gopal Sen [resident of Bodhjung area] had restrained them. Before they could realize anything, they caused blows upon Bithika by sharp weapons and caused blows on her belly for three/four times. His'wife' Bithika Barman succumbed on the spot. Those persons, according to the appellant, hatched a conspiracy to kill the appellant.