GOPABANDHU NAIK Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant in this appeal assails the judgment and the order of conviction passed by the Sessions Judge, Phulbani for commission of offence under section 302 IPC sentencing him to undergo imprisonment for life.

(2.) THIS is an unfortunate case of matricide for a trivial cause i.e. failure of mother to arrange marriage for her son, the appellant. The prosecution case is that on 5.8.2001, the deceased and her daughter had gone to work in their field in the morning and returned home at about 9.30 A.M. Thereafter the deceased brought some woods and a tangia to outside her house to cut the woods for fuel purpose. At that time, the appellant, who was present there told the deceased to handover the said tangia to him so that he would cut woods. The deceased mother handed over the tangia to the appellant and went inside the house, where after the appellant followed her holding the tangia, went inside the house and locked the door from inside. After some time the deceased shouted from inside the house as "Seta Marigali". Hearing the shout, the younger son of the deceased, P.W.6 went near the door and asked the appellant to open the door, but the appellant did not open the door. Thereafter, P.W.6 climbed over the roof, made a hole in the thatch of the roof and saw that the deceased was lying in a pool of blood inside the house and the appellant was present there holding tangia. Thereafter, he made hulla and hearing the said hulla, the villagers including two Grama Rakhis, i.e. P.Ws.8 and 9 arrived at the spot. Information was sent to the husband of the deceased, P.W.2, who came to the spot. Thereafter the matter was informed to Linepada Police Out Post through the Gramarakhi -P.W.9. On the same day afternoon, the A.S.I. of Linepada Police Out Post along with O.I.C. Tikabali P.S. arrived at the spot where P.W.2 lodged written F.I.R. Being asked by the police officers, the appellant opened the door and it was found that dead body of the deceased was lying inside the room with cut injuries on her neck and head. The appellant was taken to custody and inquest was held over the dead body in presence of the witnesses and the dead body was sent for post mortem examination. While in police custody, the appellant gave the statement that he had killed his mother by a tangia and also gave recovery of the tangia from where he concealed the same. The I.O. recorded the statement of the witnesses and started investing into the matter. After the investigation, he submitted the charge sheet against the appellant for commission of offence under section 302 I.P.C.

(3.) THE plea of the appellant was complete denial. His further plea was that as the appellant was staying away from the village, his father -P.W.2, mother -the deceased, sister -P.W.3 and brother -P.W.6 in order to deprive him from the family properties, have implicated him in this false case. Plea of the appellant was also that while his mother was cutting fire wood by a tangia inside the house and she sustained injury on her head by hitting of tangia, as a result of which she died. In order to prove the case, the prosecution had examined as many as ten witnesses including I.O. (P.W.10) and the doctor (P.W.5) and exhibited thirteen documents including the FIR and post -mortem report and also produced three M.Os. On the other hand the defence had examined none.