SATYA MALI Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a revision against the appellate judgment of the Sessions Judge of sambalpur maintaining the conviction of that petitioner under Sections 304-A and 337 1. P. C. and the sentence of rigorous imprisonment for two years for the former offence and 4 months for the latter offencel passed by a First Class magistrate of Sambalpur.

(2.) THE case is undoubtedly of an extra-ordinary nature. In village Dhama P. S. Sambalpur one Dasarathi Sahara (who was tried along with the petitioner but was acquitted) posed as a snake charmer who could by giving proper training to young disciples, prevent them from being affected in any way by snake bite. He further stated that he was himself a disciple of the petitioner, Satya Mali (who was his guru ). Several credulous villagers (numbering about 18) enlisted themselves as dasarathi's disciples and underwent a course of training prescribed by him. The petitioner as the Guru came to the village on 21-11-1960 to complete the training. The trainees were asked to observe fast for the whole of 22-114960. In the afternoon of that day petitioner and Dasarathi went to a jungle and brought some herbs. Puja was performed then the herbs were powdered on a grinding stone and made into pills of the sizes of figs. On 23-11-1960 Puja was again performed with the usual mantras; a goat was sacrificed and the pills were distributed along with goat meat, to the trainees, thereby completing the course of training. Dasarathi himself took a pill. Sometime after taking the pills the trainees began to vomit. Four of them died at the spot after some time and the rest became sick and were taken to the hospital where one of them (Satrughana) died. The remaining persons however, recovered either due to medical treatment or due to their own natural powers of resistance. The medical Officer Dr. Rath (p. w. 15) preserved the vomit of the persons whom he treated. Similarly, another medical officer Dr. Pradhan (p. w. 16) who held the post mortem examination on the corpses of the five deceased persons preserved their viscera which were also sent to the Chemical Examiner for analysis. The Sub inspector of Police (p. w. 17) also seized the grinding stone in which the pills were said to have been prepared and sent it to the Chemical Examiner. But the report of the Chemical Examiner shows that no poison was detected in any of the exhibits sent to him.

(3.) NOTWITHSTANDING this report of the Chemical Examiner the two lower courts thought that the death of the five persons and the serious illness of the remaining must have been caused by the pills administered to them by the petitioner with the help of Dasarathi and that he was guilty of a rash and negligent act. The lower appellate court thought that the Chemical Examiner submitted his report only on 11-7-1962 even though the incriminating articles had been sent to him on 28-11961 and that during this long interval the, poison might have disappeared. Having thus rejected the report of the Chemical Examiner he thought that on the oral evidence on record it could be reasonably held that it was on account of the pills administered by the petitioner that the five disciples died and many other fell sick and suffered grievously.