GOPAL TANDI Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the order of the learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Titilagarh convicting the appellant Gopal Tandi for commission of offence under Sections 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing him to undergo imprisonment for life under Section 302 of the IPC and to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years and to pay fine of Rs. 2,000/-, in default, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a further period of one year for the offence under Section 307 of the IPC in Sessions Case No. 76(B)/24 of 2002. Case of the prosecution is that the accused appellant is the nephew of injured Udu Suna, P.W. 4 and the deceased is the wife of Udu Suna. The accused had married Kutulu Suna, who is daughter of the brother of Udu Suna. After his marriage, the accused had enticed away the daughter of Udu Suna to Raipur and had kept her there for one month. Thereafter, the accused brought her to his house and kept her in his house for six months. When he kept the daughter of P.W. 4 in his house, his wife left his house and for this a village meeting was convened by the villagers on 19.02.2002 at about 12 noon and in the said meeting the accused-appellant complained that P.W. 4 Udu Suna was practising witch-craft on him for which he was ill. Udu Suna protested against this and the meeting had dispersed. After the meeting was over, Udu Suna took his sheeps for grazing and went near the village Bandh along with P.W. 5, Shyam Sundar Suna. At that time the appellant appeared there being armed with a knife and stabbed Udu on his abdomen, as a result of which, intestine of Udu came out. After stabbing him the accused went towards the village. Hearing the hullah raised by Udu, his wife Jhima and grandson Mithun came towards him to help him. Seeing them on the way, the accused also stabbed Jhima Suna on her abdomen with the same knife, as a result of which, she fell down with severe injury. Thereafter, the accused also stabbed Mithun on his chest causing laceration wound. After stabbing both of them on the way, the accused again ran to Udu Suna and stabbed him on right side of the chest with the same knife and thereafter the appellant fled away with the knife.

(2.) In order to prove its case, prosecution has examined fifteen witnesses and exhibited fifteen documents, but the defence has examined none. The appellant took the plea of complete denial and further pleaded that he has been falsely implicated in this case due to poverty.

(3.) The learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Titilagarh after examining evidence of all the witnesses and perusing all the exhibited documents adduced on behalf of the prosecution, came to the conclusion that the appellant has committed the murder of Jhima Suna and held him guilty under Section 302 of the IPC and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life. The learned Addl. Sessions Judge has also found him guilty under Section 307 of the IPC for attempting to commit murder of Udu Suna and assaulting Mithun Tandi and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years and further to pay fine of Rs. 2,000/- and in default of payment thereof to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a further period of one year.