SANTOSH MAHABHARA Vs. STATE OF ODISHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Kuchinda by the judgment dtd. 3/11/2009 passed in S.T. Case No.82/18 of 2008 convicted Santosh Mahabhara for offence U/S 302 of IPC and sentenced him to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment (R.I.) for life and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000.00 in default whereof, to undergo R.I. for further six months. Being aggrieved with his conviction and sentence for commission of offence U/S 302 of IPC, the convict Santosh Mahabhara has preferred this appeal.

(2.) The prosecution case in precise is the convict-Santosh Mahabhara is the cousin of P.W.1-Bijaya Mahabhara and about seven days before 14/1/2008, P.W.1 had expressed dissatisfaction over partition of their homestead land before his elder parents Cheru Mahabhara and Janaki Mahabhara in presence of convict and his younger brother Jayakrushna Mahabhara, but they did not respond. On 14/1/2008 at about 5 P.M. in the evening while Cheru Mahabhara, Taru Mahabhara (father of P.W.1), convict-Santosh Mahabhara and Binod Sunani and Pramod Kusum of their street were warming by sitting in front of fire in the house of the convict, at that time, the convict told that had I been taken liquor on the day previous week, I would have killed you (informant) and thereafter, there was altercation between two sides relating to the partition dispute of their homestead land. When the informant and his father were returning back to their house, the convict threw a burnt brick which struck on the chest of the father of P.W.1 namely Taru Mahabhara(hereinafter referred to as the 'deceased') and he died.

(3.) In support of its case, the prosecution examined 14 witnesses, relied upon documents under Exts.1 to 15 and identified Material Objects MO-I to MO-V as against the oral evidence of two witnesses as DWs.1 and 2 including the convict himself as DW1 and one documentary evidence under Ext.A by the convict. Of the prosecution witnesses, P.W.1 is the informant, P.W.2, the sister-in-law of the informant and P.W.3, the mother of P.W.2 are projected as eye witnesses to the occurrence, P.W.4 is a witness to the inquest and seizure, P.Ws.5 and 14 are the doctors, P.Ws. 6 to 8 and 12 are post occurrence witnesses, P.W.9 is a witness to seizure whereas, P.Ws. 10 and 11 are Police personnel and lastly P.W.13 is the I.O.