ANAMA NAIK Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant having been convicted under section 302 of the Penal Code and sentenced to imprisonment for life, has preferred this appeal against the judgment and order of conviction passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Dhenkanal.

(2.) THE prosecution case is that on 9.9.1987 at about 9 P.M. while the informant Krupa Naik, P.W.1 (son of the deceased) was exchanging jokes with one Dukhia Naik and when both the them were playfully assaulting each other, the deceased intervened and caught hold of Dukhia and on being explained that it was a game between them, he asked Dukhia to go to his house. The appellant took exception in the conduct of the deceased and when the deceased was about to enter the house, he dealt a blow by means of a Katari used for cutting tress on his right leg. The deceased raised alarm saying that he was assaulted by the appellant. In response to such alarm raised by the deceased, several co-villagers arrived at the spot and found the deceased having profused bleeding from the injury on the leg. Subsequently, the deceased succumbed to the injuries. The informant P.W.1 did not venture to go out of the house in the night and on the next day morning, he reported the incident to the investigation officer of Kishorenagar Police Station. In course of investigation, the "Katari" M.O. I used for assaulting the deceased was seized in presence of witnesses upon confession made by the appellant in police custody leading the police to the place of concealment from the eastern side of village. On completion of investigation, charge-sheet was submitted for offence committed under section 302 of the Penal Code.

(3.) THE prosecution in order to bring home the charge, examined six witnesses, out of whom, P.W.1 is the informant (son of the deceased), P.Ws. 2 and 3 are the independent witnesses who saw the appellant running away from the spot and P.W.6, the Doctor who conducted the post mortem examination.