SUBHAS Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal against an order of conviction passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Burdwan in Sessions Trial No. 16 of 1978 convicting the appellant under S. 302, I.P.C. and sentencing him to suffer imprisonment for life.

(2.) The appellant Subhas Debnath is the husband of the deceased Usha Debnath. Admittedly a little after they were married they separated and were living separately for about 1/1/2 years before the incident that took place on 4-3-1977. The prosecution case in brief is as follows. The accused with his parents lived at village Chakrahatpur within P. S. Purbasthali and the victim Usha after she was separated from her husband lived with her parents and brothers at a different place. P.W. 1 Shyamlal Nath is the husband of the elder sister of Usha. On 4-3-77 P.W.1 along with Usha came to Chakrahatpur to meet his elder sister Suchitra Debnath. At about 3-15 P.M. P.W.1 and Usha left the house of Suchitra with a view to go to Usha's father's place. P.W.1 met Sudhir Debnath on the way. P.W.4. Sudhir was a rickshaw-puller. He was requested to carry P.W.1 and the victim in his rickshaw. P.W. 1 and P.W.4 were going a little ahead being followed by Usha and Suchitra. While they were passing along the village path the accused Subhas suddenly appeared there and assaulted Usha with a knife on different parts offer body. Being attracted by the alarm raised by Usha, P.W.1 rushed to the spot whereupon he too was attacked, but he somehow resisted with the help of a bag, which he was carrying. The accused Subhas fled away from the scene while Usha fell down on the road dead. Some local people assembled of whom P.W.5 Krishnagopal arranged to send a message to the police through one Suresh Debnath (P.W.3). The police arrived shortly thereafter and recorded the statement of P.W. 1, which has been treated as F.I.R. (Exhibit 1). On the basis of the F.I.R. Purbasthali P.S. Case No. 4 dated 4-3-1977 was started. The police seized some articles from the spot under a seizure list (Exhibit 2), searched for the accused and also searched his house, examined witnesses, and prepared a sketch map with index (Exhibit 8). On 5-3-77 the accused surrendered at Kalna P.S. He was produced in court on 6-3-77 and a statement made by him was recorded on the very same date (Exhibit 4). The police is also alleged to have recovered a knife and a bush-shirt from the house of the accused under the seizure list (Exhibit 6). The articles are said to have been produced by the accused himself. Postmortem examination of the dead body was held by P.W.9. He found as many as six incised wounds of which two were severe. Death in his opinion was due to shock and internal hemorrhage as a result of injuries 5 and 6 which were ante mortem and homicidal in nature. After completion of investigation the police submitted a charge-sheet against the accused Subhas Debnath under S. 302 I.P.C.

(3.) The defense as far as could be ascertained from the trend of cross-examination, suggestions put to the witnesses and the statement made by the accused under S. 313, Cr. P.C. appears to be that P.W.1 and Usha had developed an intimate relationship between them as a result of which she had conceived and that to avoid scandal and to maintain family peace she was got rid of and the accused has been falsely implicated.