MEHESWAR DORA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) LEARNED Trial Court found the appellant guilty of offence under Section 302, I.P.C. and sentenced him to suffer imprisonment for life and pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/in default to suffer further R.I. for six months. The aforesaid judgment and order of sentence passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Jeypore in Sessions Case No. 16 of 1999, is impugned in this appeal.

(2.) THE occurrence happened at 6.00 a.m. on 25.5.1998 in front of the house of deceased Padma Dora at village Teteliguda under Kotpad Police Station. At that time, deceased Padma Dora was cleaning her front courtyard. The appellant came there and assaulted her by means of an Axe causing bleeding injuries on her neck, head and shoulder. It is alleged that the assault by the appellant on the deceased was the effect of the appellant's belief that she (deceased) was a witch. Immediately after the assault, the; deceased was shifted inside her hut where she declared before the post -occurrence witnesses P.Ws. 3, 4 and 5 that she was assaulted by the appellant. Then she was shifted to Kotpad Community Health Centre where her dying declaration was recorded by the treating doctor. She succumbed to the injuries while undergoing treatment in Community Health Centre, Kotpad. On registration of the case, P.W. -11 took up investigation and submitted charge -sheet against the appellant under Section 302, I.P.C. on completion of the investigation.

(3.) THE prosecution has examined eleven witnesses to prove the charge. P.Ws. -1 and 2 are the eye witnesses to the occurrence. Out of them, P.W. -1 is the son of the deceased and P.W. -2 a child witness is the grand -daughter of the deceased. P.Ws. -3, 4 and 5 are the post -occurrence witnesses before whom the deceased is asserted to have made oral dying declaration and out of them P.W. -3 is the husband of the deceased. P.W. -6 is a witness to some relevant seizures. P.W. -7 is a witness regarding incriminatory conduct of the appellant and the fact that he saw the appellant holding a bloodstained Tangia and further fact that the appellant confessed before him that he had just killed a person. Rest of the witnesses are official witnesses, out of whom P.W. -8 is the Medical Officer, who recorded dying declaration of the deceased, examined the deceased while she was undergoing treatment and conducted postmortem examination on her dead body after her death and P.W. -11 is the Investigating Officer.