BAHYA KISAN Vs. THE STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Appellant was tried by the Additional Sessions Judge, Sundagarh on a charge under Section 302 , Indian Penal Code on the allegation that he caused the death of Naga Kisan and his wife Ganga Kisanin by poisoning and was convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life. The facts of the prosecution case lie within a short compass. The deceased Naga Kisan, p.w. 3 Badlo Kisan and the Appellant Bhaya Kisan were brothers. Deceased Ganga Kisanin was Naga 's wife. Naga and the Appellant were residing in the same house but in two different rooms. There were frequent quarrels between these two brothers regarding their lands. Sometime before the occurrence two of the children of the Appellant died and he suspected that the deaths were brought about by Ganga Kisanin practising witchcraft on the children. This was an other reason for quarrel between the two brothers. At about midday on 4 -11 -1968, Naga Kisan and his wife Ganga Kisanin took rice and handia in their house and shortly thereafter Naga began to vomit and after vomiting several times he died. Immediately thereafter Ganga also began to vomit and she also died. p.w. 3 the younger brother of the deceased Naga lodged information at the police station Raiboga which is 14 miles off from his village Sadhumunda at about midday on 5 -11 -1968 on the basis of which the officer -in -charge p.w. 8 drew up two U.D. F.I.Rs. Exts. 10 and 11 and took up investigation. He arrived at the spot at about 7 P.M. on that very day and held inquest over the dead bodies dispatched the same to the Medical Officer, Rajgangpur for post -mortem examination. He then collected some earth containing the vomiting of Naga and his wife, some dry handia from an earthen pot and the remnants ' of the curry and rice which he found in the house of Naga. Next morning he searched the house of the Appellant and recovered therefrom a paper packet which contained some black powder suspected to be rat killing poison. On the basis of materials placed before him he thought that Naga Kisan and his wife were killed by administering poison to them and he suspected that the Appellant had committed the offence. He, therefore, drew up an F.I.R. under Section 302, Indian Penal Code and arrested the Appellant.

(2.) THE doctor who conducted the autopsy on the dead bodies preserved their viscera which along with the seizures made by the Investigating Officer in the house of the deceased and the black powder which he recovered from the house of the Appellant were in due course sent to the Chemical Examiner who after examination detected zinc phosphide in the viscera of the two dead persons and also in the powder contained in the packet which was recovered from the house of the Appellant. After completion of the investigation, the Appellant was put on trial.

(3.) THE learned Sessions Judge considered the evidence on record and came to the conclusion that Naga and his wife died due to poisoning, that the rat killing powder containing poison (sic) had been recovered from the possession of the Appellant, that the latter was in inimical terms with the deceased -because of some disputes regarding land and also because he suspected that his two children died as a result of witchcraft practised on them by Ganga . He also believed that the Appellant made an extra judicial confession before p.ws. 5 and 6 that it is he who brought about the deaths of Naga and his wife Ganga. He, therefore, convicted the Appellant and sentenced him as stated above.