GURAN DITARAO Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Present appeal has been filed by the appellant against the order dated 5.10.1991 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Jeypore in Sessions Case No. 25 of 1991 convicting him under section 302 I.P.C. and sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life.

(2.) The prosecution case, in short, is that the accused-appellant, a resident of Kisirguda came to the house of Pangi Shyama on the date of occurrence, i.e. 24.12.1990, at about 9 A.M. and asked Pangi Domuni (P.W. 1), the wife of Pangi Shyama to provide him food. Pangi Domuni gave him raggi gruel and on his request permitted him to sleep in her house. Thereafter Pangi Domuni went to the field for harvesting Alasi crops. She returned home at about 5 P.M. and found the accused still sleeping in her house. After some time, Dirsaraila who was also known as Kissing Balla (the deceased) came to the house of Pangi Domuni to take her husband (accused) to the housy at village Misinguda. Thereafter Pangi Jaya (P.W. 2) and pangi Jaganath (P.W. 3) and their father Pangi Shyama returned home. Pangi Shyama went out to attend meeting in the village. At about 7 P.M. the accused-appellant, his wife (the accused), Pangi Domuni and her son pangi Jaya anq Pangi Jaganath sat together in the house to take their meals. It is alleged that the accused-appellant after taking his meal handed over the utensils to the deceased for cleaning the same. At that time, the deceased asked the accused-appellant whether he wanted to go outside to which the accused- appellant replied affirmatively. It is further alleged that the accused-appellant suddenly picked up a tangia which was lying in the house and dealt a blow with the said tangia on the head of the deceased and fled away with that tangia. The complainant Pangi Jaya (P.W. 2), his father and brother took the deceased who had sustained bleeding injury on her head to the house of the accused-appellant and left her there in his absence. The accused-appellant in the very night of occurrence at about 9.45 P.M. appeared at Somiliguda police station and orally reported to the Officer-in-charge of the said police station about the assault on his wife in the, house of Shyama Pangi at village Rajanaguda. Sri Asok Kumar Sahu (P.W. 13), the Officer-in-charge, Somiliguda police station entered the said fact vide Station Diary Entry No. 523 dated 24.12.1990 (Ext. 14) and directed Sri K.C.Patra (P.W. 12) the A.S.I. of Police to enquire into the matter. The said A.S.I. of Police seized one tangia from the possession of the accused-appellant while he was at the police station and proceeded to the house of Pangi Shyama and arrived there at 11 P.M. on 24.12.1990. Complainant Pangi Jaya gave oral report of the occurrence to which the A.S.L of Police reduced to writting, treated the same as F.I.R. and sent the same to the police station and took up investigation. He seized blood-stained earth from the house of the complainant, proceeded to the house of the accused-appellant and found his wife (the deceased) lying on the verandah of the house with bleeding injury on her head. He examined her and sent her to Snnaboda Hospital for medical examination and treatment. But she died on 30.12.1990 at 9.30 A.M. while undergoing treatment in the said hospital. Thereafter the Police held inquest over the dead body of the deceased, sent the same to Koraput Hospital for post-mortem examination, examined the witnesses and in due course after completion of investigation charge-sheeted the accusedappellant for having committed the murder of his wife. Hence the case.

(3.) The accused-appellant denied his complicity with the offence in question and stated that on the ill-fated day at about 9 A.M. his wife went to the field for harvesting Alasi crops after taking her meals with him and that he went to Rajanaguda village to purchase hen. While in that village, he slept on the verandah of the house of Pangi Domuni. His wife came there at about 4 P.M. to call him for watching Alasi crops. He went to the field at about 5 P.M. when his wife was there is the house of Pangi Domuni. He disowned his knowledge as to the cause of his wifes death and pleaded innocence.