RAJ KISHORE RABIDAS Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Death Reference under Section 374 Criminal P. C. has been submitted by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, 7th Court at Alipore, Shri P.K. Banerjee and arises out of the Trial No. 1 of May, 1867, in which Raj Kishore Rabidas was tried for an offence of murder punishable under Section 302, I. P. C., and tne trial Court has sentenced him to death under that section. From that order of conviction the condemned prisoner has preferred an appeal from jail which is Criminal Appeal No. 308 of 1967. The Death Reference and that appeal were heard together. The learned Deputy Legal Remembrancer Mr. S.N. Banerjee appeared for the State. The learned Advocate Mr. Chittaranjan Das has appeared on behalf of the defence before us.

(2.) The prosecution case is that on Amrani Bera Road, Barrackpore, Nepal Chandra Dey had a tea shop. The accused Raj Kishora Rabidas is a cobbler and used to carry on his trade at a street junction which is the junction of Amrani Bera Road and S.N. Banerjee Road. That place is near Nepal's tea shop. In that shop Subhas Chandra Bose was an employee. On the other side of the road there was another tea shop owned by one Banamali Adhikari. Amal Kumar Mukherjee who was a dealer in green vegetables used to live in that tea shop of Banamali Adhikari. Subhas and Amal were friends. The accused Raj Kishore Rabidas used to sleep in the night near Banamali's tea shop. In the night of 17th Chaitra, 1372 B. S. corresponding to 1st of April, 1966, Subhas and Amal after finishing their meals at about 11 P.M. went to see a jatra performance about a mile away from Amrani Bera Road.

(3.) Nepal also took his meal at about the same time with Subhas and as usual Nepal had gone to sleep on his bed spread over two benches on an open space covered by tin shed to the south of his tea shop. Subhas left the keys of the shop under his pillow and set out with his friend Amal to witness the jatra-performance. It is stated that these boys returned at about 1-30 a.m. After they had approached Amrani Bera Road from the eastern side they noticed somebody to get up from the other side of Nepal's tea shop and proceed towards the junction of Amrani Bera Road and S.N. Banerjee Road on the north. In their view that man took out something from a box hanging on the wall on the road junction and began to proceed towards Nepal's shop. That man eventually came to the open space where Nepal was sleeping. Subash and Amal were under the impression that he was an ordinary thief. So they slowly went near him. Then they realised that the man was none other than the accused Raj Kishore. According to the prosecution, the accused had in fact brought out his chisel for the purpose of killing Nepal. Immediately he plunged the chisel into the chest of Nepal several times while Subash and Amal looked on in amazement. When Nepal shrieked, Subhas asked the accused what he was doing. The accused then became aware of their presence and charged at them. The two boys then took to their heels. Subash ran straight into the house of a neighbour. The accused pursued him. It is stated that Nepal, though be was fatally injured, also ran after the accused. Amal also fled. Thereafter, according to the prosecution story, attracted by the shouts of Subash and Amal some neighbours came and they found Nepal running behind the accused and then falling down on the street. The accused hid himself in the house of Dipen Chakraborty and was apprehended by those neighbours and then was handed over to a constable attached to the police outpost nearby. In the meantime Nepal was taken to the hospital in a rickshaw by P. W. 1 Subash, where Nepal was admitted for treatment.