MADHAB MUNDA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a prisoners appeal against his conviction under Section 302, Indian Penal Code and the sentence of rigorous imprisonment for life.

(2.) The incident took place on the night of 8.8-79 at about 10 p.m. at the residential house of the deceased in village Tentulidihi under Koira Police Station in the district of Sundargarh.

(3.) Tersely put and shorn of all unnecessary details, the prosecution case, as disclosed at the trial is as follows: The appellant and the deceased are co. villagers. P.W. 1 Maati Munda is the son-in-law of the deceased. Be was residing in the same village at a short distance from the house of the deceased. It was alleged that on the night of occurrence the deceased Bashadullah Munda was sleeping in a room of his house and his son (P.W. 2) and wife (P.W. 3) were sleeping at a short distance from him in the same room. At about 8 p.m in the night the appellant came there with an axe and dealt blows with it on the deceased as a result of which he died instantaneously at the spot. Hearing a sound P.W. 2 got up and found the appellant dealing axe blows on the head of his father. He went running to the house of P.W. 1 and narrated the incident before him. When P.W. 1 came to the spot and asked the appellant as to why he was killing his father-in-law he was threatened with murder. Then P.W. 1 went to the house of P.W. 5 Sridhar Munda and narrated the occurrence before him. By the time he returned to the spot, the deceased had succumbed to the injuries. On 9-8-79 at about 4 a.m. P.W. 1 lodged the F.I.R. at Koira Police Station, which is at a distance of about 3 kilometres from the place of occurrence. The Officer-in-charge of the Police Station (P.W. 8) visited the spot at 4-30 a.m. on the same day and arrested the appellant. In course of investigation, he seized the weapon of offence and the wearing cloth of the appellant which contained stains of blood. In due course, he submitted charge-sheet against the appellant under Section 302, Indian Penal Code.