DIPAK DAS Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 22nd December, 1993 passed by the learned Addl. Sessions Judge, 1st Court, Bankura in Sessions Trial No. 6(7) 1992 (Sessions Case No. 1 (5) 1989) convicting the appellant No. 1 Dipak Das (A1) and his father Subhas Das (A2) aged about 70 years, u/S. 302, I.P.C. and sentencing each of them to suffer imprisonment for life as also convicting both the appellants u/S. 201, I.P.C. and sentencing each of them to suffer R.I. for two years and also to pay a fine of Rs. 1000/- i.d. to suffer R.I. for a further period of one year, both the sentences are directed to run concurrently. Both the appellants have been found not guilty u/S. 498A, I.P.C. Two other accused persons placed in the same trial namely Abhijit Das and Sudip Das who are the brothers of Dipak Das (A1) and the sons of Subhas Das (A2) were acquitted of all the charges as both Abhijit and Sudip lived separately from both A1 and A2.

(2.) Bereft of details, the prosecution case, is that Dipak Das (A1) son of such Subhas Das (A2) of Lokpur, Bankura, was married to Chhabi Rani Das (since deceased), a daughter of Ranjit Sarkar (P.W. 13) of Alijhara, P.S. Indpur, District Bankura in the month of Falgun 1388. B. S. Ranjit Sarkar (P.W. 13), father of the deceased Chhabi Rani Das was a poor man and on account of his inability to give any dowry at the time of Chhabi's marriage, Chhabi was subjected to ill-treatment by the appellants and the two brothers of the appellant No. 1 in her matrimonial home. It is the further prosecution case that on 14-8-1987 at mid-night these two appellants and the other two accused persons who have been acquitted by the trial Court, killed Chhabi and set fire to her body after pouring kerosene oil on her. On 15-9-1987, in the morning P.W. 3 Parimal Chand, Sub-Officer of Bankura Fire Brigade, on receipt of a call from Dipak (A1) to the effect that fire broke out in his house, went to the house of Dipak and found the dead body of Chhabi extensively burnt, lying on the floor of the garret of the house and Sri Parimal Chand (P.W. 3) informed the Police Station about this burn case. Dipak (A1) thereafter went to his father-in-law's house and informed there that Chhabi committed suicide by setting herself on fire. P.W. 1 Durgadas Sarkar, a brother of the deceased, immediately went to the house of Dipak (A1) at Lokepur and found the burnt body of the deceased Chhabi in the garret of the house and found that the police had already reached there and Bankura P. S. U. D. Case No. 236/87 dated 15-8-87 was started over the said incident, P.W. 15 S. I. S. P. Garai, I. D. of the case, held inquest over the dead body of the deceased Chhabi and thereafter sent the dead body to the morgue. P.W. 14, Dr. J. N. Dey held the P.M. examination on the dead body of Chhabi on 15th August, 1987, and opined that the death of Chhabi was due to the effect of head injuries, ante-mortem and homicidal in nature which might have been caused by some hard and blunt weapon and the burnt injuries on the dead body of Chhabi were post-mortem. P.W. 1 Durgadas Sarkar brother of Chhabi, submitted the written complaint (Ext. 2/1) to the O.C. Bankura P.S. pursuant to which P.W. 9 S.I. Dharmadas Chatterjee, O.C. of Bankura P.S. drew up the formal F.I.R. Ext. 2/3 and started Bankura P.S. Case No. 12/145 dated 16-8-87 and this case was also endorsed to P.W. 15 S.I. Sastipada Garai for investigation and P.W. 15, after completion of investigation submitted charge-sheet against the appellants and two other brothers of A1 (who have been acquitted by the trial Court) u/Ss. 498A/302/201/34, I.P.C. against all the four accused persons placed on the trial.

(3.) The plea of all the four accused persons at the trial is one of denial and innocence. The defence case, as appears from the trend of cross-examination and the examination of the accused persons u/S. 313 Cr. P.C. is that no dowry was demanded at the time of marriage of Chhabi with A1 and Chhabi was never subjected to tortures in her matrimonial home and the relation of all the accused persons placed in the trial with the deceased's parents and other inmates of their house was never strained and whenever the deceased's mother P.W. 12 Narayarni Sarkar would fall sick she would undergo treatment in Govinda Nagar hospital staying in the house of A1. It is also the defence case that the deceased's brother Durgadas Sarkar (P.W. 1) had a shop at Lokepur near the house of A1 and in the matter of running the shop P.W. 1 would get immense help from A1 and in the matter of recovery of possession of some dispossessed land of the deceased's father P.W. 13 Ranjit Sarkar, A1 helped a lot. It is the further defence case that on 14-8-87, at night, the deceased Chhabi set herself on fire in the small space near the upper end of the staircase of the house of A1 and committed suicide and A1 first gave the information of this unfortunate incident to the local Fire Brigade and as a matter of fact, the de facto-complainant Durgadas (P.W. 1), demanded some money from A1 for the death of Chhabi but A1 refused to oblige him and for this refusal this case has been falsely engineered against the appellant No. 1, his father and his two brothers who are absolutely innocent.