BHUNDA MOHAKUD Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this appeal from jail the appellants seek to challenge the judgment and order dated 05.07.1999 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Rairangpur in S.T. Case No.20/169 of 1998 convicting them under Section 302/34 IPC and sentencing each of them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life.

(2.) THE case of the prosecution is that on 21.06.1998 P.W.3 appeared before Bahalda police station and reported orally that he used to prepare bricks in the bricks factory of one Ashok Satapathy. His son-in-law Dula Munda, the deceased, also used to work in that bricks factory. Fifteen days prior to the date of occurrence, appellant no.1 had declared before him and others that the deceased would be murdered as he had kept illicit relationship with his (appellant no.1's) wife. On the date of occurrence at about 12.00 noon, Loba Mahakud, the deceased, Kangalu, Tutulu and the informant had been to the house of Ashok Satapathy to bring money for construction of bricks. As Ashok Babu told them to pay money at the time of Gamha, they came back. Of them, the informant, deceased Dula Munda and Labasat on the village tank. THEn deceased Dula Munda said that he would go to thehouse of his 'Soya' (sworn friend) to arrange two labourers to plough his land andsaying so he went inside the colony where his 'Soya' was staying. Sometimesthereafter, appellant no.1 holding an axe went in that direction along with appellantno.2. Seeing them when the informant asked as to where were they going, theyreplied that they were going to cut the tree. THE informant and Laba, thinking thatdeceased would come with the labourers later, started walking without waiting for him.After coming to a little distance, they heard hullah of the wife of Kangulu and thedaughter of Balaram to the effect that there was a murder. Hearing the shout, theinformant and Laba rushed to the spot and found deceased Dula Munda lying therewith bleeding injuries and appellant no.1 had been held by the villagers. THE O.I.C.,Bahalda police station reduced the oral report of the informant (P.W.3) to writing andregistered a case under sections 307/34 I.P.C. against the present appellants, went tothe spot and shifted the injured to the hospital. As the deceased succumbed to theinjury at the hospital, the case was turned to one under section 302/34 IPC.