NABA BEHERA Vs. STATE OF ODISHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The convicts in S.T. Case No.34/13/135 of 2003/2002 and S.T. Case No.11/157 of 2003 herein are in appeal against the common judgment of conviction and order of sentence passed on 21/9/2004 by learned Adhoc Additional Sessions Judge, First Track, Khurda convicting the Appellants for offences punishable under Ss. 302/34 of IPC and sentencing each of three Appellants to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000.00 in default whereof to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for three months.

(2.) It requires to be noted that both the appeals involving three convicts having arisen out of a common judgment in two Sessions trials for the murder of one Chaitanya Hota, are heard simultaneously and disposed of by this common judgment with the consent of the learned counsel for the parties, who are same in both the appeals. By separate orders of this Court, Appellant No.1 Naba Behera and Appellant No.2 Shanti Behera in JCrlA No. 39 of 2005 and Appellant Dillip Kumar Das in CRLA 346 of 2004 were enlarged on bail during the pendency of the appeals.

(3.) The prosecution case in brief is on 17/8/2001 at about 10 a.m., the father of the deceased received information from his co-villager Jatia,S/O Baidhar Panda that Naba Behera, Dillip Das and Shantilata Behera, W/O Naba Behera (hereinafter referred to as 'convicts') had assaulted his elder son Chaitanya Hota (hereinafter referred to as 'deceased') by means of 'lathies' and 'Farsa' and murdered him. On receipt of such information, Lachhman Hota rushed to the spot along with his younger son Pratap Hota and thereafter, found the dead body of the deceased lying on the Danda (verandah) of his house with cut injuries on his left leg, right leg, left elbow and on the back side of his head as well as bleeding injuries on his body. On this incident, Lachhman Hota lodged an FIR before the OIC, Bolagarh P.S., who registered P.S. Case No.75 of 2001 and took up investigation, in the course of which he examined the witnesses, visited the spot, seized blood stained earth and sample earth. He further seized two bamboo lathis from the spot and conducted inquest over the dead body of the deceased and got the autopsy done over the dead body of the deceased at DHH, Khurda. On 18/8/2001 at about 5 p.m., the I.O. also apprehended the convicts Dillip Das and Naba Behera in the market at Rajsunakhala and thereafter, recorded their disclosure statements of convicts, whereafter, convict Naba Behera gave recovery of one polyester check lungi stained with blood at different places and one green colour napkin stained with blood, from inside the heap of straw kept on the back side of bari (backward) of his house in presence of witnesses, which were seized by the IO and thereafter, convict Dillip Das gave recovery of the weapon of offence 'Farsa' having 16 and '' blade with a bamboo handle, one sporting banyan of light blue colour, one striped napkin and one striped lungi from the eastern side of heap of the straw in presence of witnesses pursuant to his disclosure statement which were seized by the IO. On receipt of post mortem report, the IO by sending the weapons of offence i.e. such as 'Farsa' made query to the Doctor, who submitted his report affirmatively stating therein that the incised wounds can be caused by Farsa and such injuries can lead to death. On conclusion of investigation, the I.O. submitted charge-sheet against the accused Dillip Kumar Dash and Naba Behera for offence punishable U/Ss. 302/34 of IPC by showing convict Shanti Behera as an absconder, but she was apprehended later on and the case against her was committed to the Court of Sessions subsequently and she faced trial in a separate case in S.T. Case No. 11/157 of 2003.