SRI DILIP KUMBHAR Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The trial Court found the appellant guilty of the offence of uxoricide, convicted him under Section 302, I.P.C. and sentenced him to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/- (five thousand), in default, to suffer R.I. for six months more. The said judgment dated 18.04.2005 and order of sentence dated 20.04.2005 passed by learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Titilagarh in Sessions Case No. 114/37 of 2003 are impugned in this appeal.

(2.) The occurrence happened at about 5.30 p.m. on 08.04.2003 at Sunari jungle near Rengali situated under Saintala P.S. in the dis-trict of Bolangir. The appellant is a resident of village Talapadar. The village of the deceased is Ichhapada. marriage between the deceased and the appellant was solemnized on 11 03.2003. On 08.04.2003 the appellant is alleged to have arranged a phone call to the telephone of his co-villager Bishnu Prasad Meher (P.W.15) to reach a false message to his de-ceased wife to the effect that her father was ill. On the same day, on the pretext of taking his wife to see her ailing father, the appellant at about 5.30 p.m. left his village Talapadar along with his wife. They proceeded to Ichhapada on a bicycle through Sunari jungle. On their way to Ichhapada, the appellant persuaded his wife to give her ornaments to him, feigning appre-hension of their being robbed on the way through the jungle. While passing through the jungle, the appellant is alleged to have murdered his wife by assaulting her with a knife and a stone. After committing murder, the appellant concealed the weapons of offence at a little dis-tance from the spot and proceeded to the nearby village Rengali. There at Rengali he informed some of the villagers that some unknown cul-prits robbed the gold ornaments from the per-son of his wife and committed her murder in-side Sunari jungle. Same facts the appellant in-timated to his father-in-law from the telephone of Mahadev Sahu (P.W. 18) of Rengali. Getting such message, appellant's father-in-law (P.W.I), brother-in-law (P.W.2) along with their co-vil-lagers P.Ws. 3, 4, 9 and 11 came to Rengali. The appellant took them from village Rengali to the spot, where the deceased Alaka was found lying dead in a pool of blood. Suspecting some foul play, P.W.I, the father of the deceased, lodged report at the police station. On the basis of the report, the case was registered, and after completion of the investigation, charge-sheet was filed against the appellant implicating him in the offence punishable under Section 302, I.P.C.

(3.) The defence plea is one of complete de-nial of the charge. The appellant in his state-ment recorded under Section 313, Cr. P.C. has taken the specific plea that white he and his wife were proceeding to Ichhapada, it was already evening in Sunari jungle; four unknown persons chased them to attack; he and his wife started running, but his wife in her running state fell down, whereas he managed to escape and con-cealed himself at a safe distance inside the jungle after about half an hour he heard the cry of his wife and then he came to the spot he saw his wife laying in a pool of blood; he lifted her body to find that she was already dead and thereafter he came to village Rengali and informed the villagers about the incident. He also informed such facts to his father-in-law and others, as stated by him.