SHRI SHANIBRATA ROY Vs. THE STATE OF TRIPURA, REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY, HOME DEPARTMENT, GOVT. OF TRIPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal by the convicted accused is directed against the judgment dated 20 -03 -2010 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, West Tripura, Agartala in Case No. Sessions Trial 67(WT/A) of 2006 whereby he convicted the appellant -accused of having committed an offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 148 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sentenced him to suffer life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/ -, in default thereof to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a further period of 3 (three) months for the offence committed under Section 302 IPC and he was also sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 1 (one) year for the offence committed under Section 148 IPC and both the sentences were ordered to run concurrently. The prosecution story, in brief, is that PW -5, Smti. Baby Rani Roy, is the widow of Lt. Sri Bhajan Roy. The accused persons namely Nanda Dulal Roy and Chandra Sekhar Roy are the brothers of Lt. Sri Bhajan Roy. Smti. Bina Rani Roy and Smti. Basanti Rani Roy were the wives of these two persons. Sri Shanibrata Roy alias Falu Roy is the nephew of deceased Bhajan Roy. According to the prosecution, after the death of Bhajan Roy, the land of the brothers was partitioned and the land which fell to the share of Bhajan Roy was handed over to Smti. Baby Rani Roy.

(2.) THE case of the prosecution is that Smti. Baby Rani Roy mortgaged her land in favour of her father Sunil Deb when she took a loan of Rs. 20,000/ - for the marriage of her eldest daughter Padma and thereafter her father Sunil Deb had been cultivating the land in question. The prosecution story with regard to the incident is that in the month of Baishakha, 2006 A.D., the deceased Sunil Deb along with his wife Bina Rani Deb (PW -3), son Prantosh Deb (not examined) and two labourers (PW -10 & 11) went to the land in village Ghaniamara to harvest the paddy crop. At that time, they were attacked by all the accused persons and the appellant -accused gave a blow of a 'lathi' on the head of Sunil Deb. This caused a grievous injury on the person of Sunil Deb who was immediately shifted to Bishalgarh Hospital from where he was referred to the G.B. Hospital. He succumbed to the injuries the next morning and then the FIR was lodged by PW -3, widow of the deceased, on 19 -04 -2006 at 09 -05 hours. All the accused were charged with having committed the murder of the deceased and also charged with the offence of rioting.

(3.) THE appellant -accused has filed the present appeal and on behalf of the appellant -accused it is argued that the prosecution has not proved that the land belonged to PW -5, Smti. Baby Rani Roy, or that it was mortgaged with her father deceased Sunil Deb. It is also urged that admittedly an altercation took place on the spot and a cross FIR (FIR No. 64 of 2006 corresponding to G.R. 369 of 2006) was also lodged by the accused persons in which they had complained that they had been attacked by Sunil Deb and his family.