INDRANATH GUHA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal against an order of the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Sixth Court, Alipore, District 24 -Parganas, in Sessions Trial No. 2 of January 19, 1978, sentencing the Appellant, Indranath Guha, under Sec. 201 of the Indian Penal Code to two years' rigorou.s imprisonment and a fine 'of Rs. 1,000 in default of which rigorous imprisonment for another one month.

(2.) BRIEFLY , the prosecution case is that at about 9 a.m. on May 4, 1976, Surupa Guha, wife of the Appellant, went to the Ballygunge Science College where she was a Research Scholar in Bio -Chemistry. She worked in the laboratory for about 15 minutes and thereafter returned in a rickshaw to her residence at 10, Hindusthan Road, Calcutta. Soon afterwards, Jhantu Charan Dutta, -a part -time bearer of the household, served her breakfast consisting of lassi, rasogolla and cucumber, after taking which she fell ill. News of this was conveyed to the Appellant who had gone in the morning to South Point High School, 82/7A, Ballygunge Place, of which he was the Principal, to conduct the Secondary Examination. He returned home, picking up on the way the family physician, Dr. Bijitendra Gupta (P.W. 17). Dr. Gupta advised her immediate removal to a hospital and, accordingly, Surupa Guha was taken by Indranath Guha and his parents, accompanied by Dr. Gupta and others, to the S.S.K.M. Hospital. There she was examined by the doctors on duty in the Emergency Ward and they diagnosed it as a case of unknown poisoning. Surupa was admitted into a room of the Intensive Care Unit of the C.I. Block. At the hospital, it is alleged, Surupa stated that she had not taken any poison and that she had taken cucumber and lassi and that thereafter she became ill and fell down in the bathroom.

(3.) AT about 2 o'clock, the Appellant went to the Ballygunge Science College and met Professor S.K. Bosc (P.W. 19), under whom Surupa was conducting her research, to know what poisons were available to Surupa in the laboratory. Names of two poisons were written down on a piece of paper and the paper was handed over to the Appellant. The Appellant returned to S.S.K.M. Hospital together with two research scholars (P.W. 26 and P.W. 52) of the Ballygunge Science College. It is alleged by the Prosecution that Indranath did not hand over this piece of paper to any of the doctors treating Surupa. Further, at about 4/4.30 p.m. he removed from inside the C.I. Block a bundle of clothes consisting of bedsheets and wearing apparel of Surupa, the clothes having been removed earlier when Surupa was purging. At about 10/10.30 p.m. Indranath wrote a letter (Ex. 8) to the Ballygunge P.S. stating that his wife might have by mistake taken some deleterious substance. Surupa expired at about 11.30 that night. One Sri Bijoy Kumar Chandra (P.W. 18), a friend of Surupa's uncle, Ranendra Mohan Mukherjee (P.W. 9), informed the Lalbazar Control Room, over telephone at 00.42 hrs. that Indranath and his accomplices had murdered Surupa by administering poison to her and she had been brought dead to the hospital. Early next morning, at about 5.15 a.m., Sri Ramendra Mohan Mukherjee (P.W. 7), father of Surupa, lodged a written complaint (Ex. 133) with the Ballygunge P.S. alleging that Surupa had been murdered by administration of poison. S.I. S. S. Sarkar (P.W. 61) of the Ballygunge P.S. went to 10 Hindusthan Road to investigate the matter. He was later joined by the Officer -in -charge of the Ballygunge P.S. (P.W. 61) and another officer. The Police Officers on entering the bedroom of Surupa found the bundle of clothes under a cot. According to the Prosecution, the Detective Department, Lalbazar, took up investigation on May 5, 1976. Thereafter, on May 15, 1976, Jhantu Charan Dutta was arrested and produced before the learned S.D.J.M., Alipore, and the Police filed a report treating the letter of complaint (Ex. 133) as F.I.R. Indranath and his parents, Sati Kanta Guha and Pritylata Guha, were arrested on May 24, 1976. On June 29, 1976, Ramendra Nath Lahiri, an employee of the South Point School, 10 Hindusthan Road, was arrested.