ANANTA KUMAR KARAN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Ananta Kumar Karan was tried by the Additional Sessions Judge, 24 Parganas and a jury on a charge under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. The jury unanimously found him guilty and the learned Judge agreeing with and accepting the said verdict convicted him of the charge and sentenced him to death. The present Reference is under Section 374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for confirmation of the sentence of death by this Court and the appeal is by the convicted person against the order of his conviction and sentence. Both the Reference and the Appeal are being heard together.

(2.) The prosecution case is a simple one. The deceased, Nemai alias Ajit Chatterjee a young man of about 20 years of age was a resident of Malancha Mahinagar and was the brother's son of P. W. 3 Nanda Gopal Chatterjee. On the 23rd November, 1954 the deceased went to Baruipur Kutchery Bazar by train and came back by bus at about 3-30 p.m. after purchasing some goods for his household and also some others for one Nanda Babu. He brought some pan for P. W. 11 Puspalata Show arid went to her place to hand them Over personally to her shortly after his return from the bazar. He found the lady outside her house, made over the pan to her and proceeded towards his own, house followed by P. W. 8 Madhabilata, the daughter of Puspalata about 7 years old then. After he had gone but a little distance he was hit by the accused with a brickbat covered in a paper packet in consequence of which he fell down. Immediately thereafter the accused ran up to him and started striking him with a short sword or sword-like weapon causing severe incised wounds on the victim. Thereafter on seeing that P. W. 1 Phani Bala Dasi and P. W. 2 Panchu Gopal Das both residents in the neighbourhood of the place of occurrence and P. W. 6 Anathnath Mukherjee and P. W. 7 Manindra Nath Chatterjee, the two young men of Mahinagar who were coming that way from Mallikpore Railway Station were running towards the site of the assault, the accused fled away towards his own house with the blood-stained instrument in hand. The injured was carried by P. W. 2 Panchu Gopal Das, P. W. 6 Anathnath Mukherjee and P. W. 7 Manindra Nath Chatterjee to the house of P. W. 23 Mrigendra Lal Sarkar where many people gradually gathered. To them Nemai named the appellant as his assailant and said that the appellant had caused the injuries on him with a sword.

(3.) Nemai was then given Erst aid by two doctors P. W. 9 Dr. Sushil Kumar Bhattacharjee and P. W. 15 Dr. Haraprosad Bhattacharjee. On their advice Nemai was removed to Nil Ratan Sarkar Hospital in a taxi where he was admitted as an indoor patient. In the meantime P. W. 3 Nandagopal Chatterjee and p. W. 24 Ajit Kumar Bhattacharjee went to Sonapur Police station where Nanda Gopal lodged the first information, report at 9 a.m. The police thereupon proceeded to the place of occurrence, took some preliminary steps and seized certain alamats. P. W. 26 Haripada Brahma, Sub-Inspector of Police went to the house of the appellant at about midnight when the appellant was found absent from home. In that house the Sub-Inspector seized a wet blood stained cloth which was then spread out for drying. The police thereafter went to Nil Ratan Sarkar Hospital at about 4-30 p.m. on the 24th November 1954. At the hospital P. W. 21 Saroj Kumar Dutta, Sub-Inspector of Police of Entaily Police station recorded the dying declaration of the injured Nemai in the presence of P. W. 20 Dr. Subimal Sarkar, Medical Officer of the Hospital. Nemai, however died on the 28th November, 1954 at 12-45 p.m."