JAYPAL MUNDA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant has challenged the judgment and order passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Keonjhar convicting him under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing him to undergo imprisonment for life.

(2.) The prosecution case in short is that in the evening of 7-1-1984 the appellant committed murder of his elder brother (referred to as deceased) and infant nephew by means of an axe. He also severely injured another nephew aged about five years who subsequently succumbed to the injuries. According to the prosecution, the decease used the threaten the appellants to liquidate him along with his family and so as a retaliatory measure the appellant committed murders. The father of the appellant who is first came to know of the murders and informed villagers who came to the place of occurrence and found the dead bodies. When they questioned the appellant as to why he committed the murders, the appellant is said to have made extra judicial confession before them that he had committed the murders. At the instance of the villagers, P.W. 1 lodged First Information Report at Champua Police Station. The Investigating Officer, immediately commenced investigation and after close thereof submitted charge sheet against the accused.

(3.) The defence plea during trial was that the deceased and his wife used to quarrel. On Saturday the deceased quarreled with her but he came and slept with his father. On the succeeding Sunday morning his father found that the deceased and his two sons had been assaulted to death and the deceaseds wife was not at home. In order to lodge a report at the Police Station he came but was arrested. In short he denied his complicity with the murders.