LAXMIDHAR SWAIN Vs. STATE OF ODISHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order dtd. 13/2/2001 passed by the learned Second Additional Sessions Judge, Cuttack in Sessions Trial Case No.375 of 1999, wherein the Appellants were found guilty of the offence under Ss. 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life. However, they were found not guilty for the offence under Sec. 404 read with Sec. 34 of the IPC and were accordingly acquitted thereof.

(2.) The prosecution case, as it unfolds from the case record and the evidence adduced before the learned trial Court, is that on 19/10/1998 at about 8.30 P.M., the deceased, namely Surendra @ Sura Mulia, had gone to the house of one Judhistir Routray (P.W.11) on his Luna moped bearing Registration No. OR-05-E-6125 for some personal discussion. At around midnight, Akhaya Pradhan (P.W.6) of the same village and Ajaya Mohanty (P.W.7) of a neighbouring village informed the son of the deceased, who is the Informant, that his father was lying dead with injuries. Upon receiving such information, the Informant, along with his family members and villagers, rushed to the spot and found the dead body of his father lying on the river embankment with bleeding injuries on the neck and left eye extending across the ear. The Luna moped of the deceased was found lying beside the dead body, along with a pair of chappals. It is further borne out from the prosecution case that Akhaya Pradhan (P.W.6), Ajaya Mohanty (P.W.7), Sujit Nayak, Rasananda Parida (P.W.8), and others stated that at about 11.00 P.M., while the deceased was returning from the house of Judhistir Routray, he was allegedly chased by Deepak Mohanty @ Tutu, Bijan Parida @ Tania of village Mahespur, Naresh Baitharu @ Gaga of village Kharla, Appellant-Laxmidhar Swain @ Nachhia of village Khalarda, Akhaya Swain, and Subash Routray of village Khalarda, and that the said persons were seen returning shortly thereafter at high speed on their motorcycles. Since the deceased had prior enmity with the accused persons, the Informant suspected them to have committed the murder of his father and further alleged that a sum of Rs.200.00 was taken away from the pocket of the deceased. The case record further reveals that the Officer-in-Charge of Cuttack Sadar Police Station (P.W.19) received a telephonic message from an unknown person regarding the dead body of one Sura @ Surendra Mulia lying with injuries near the river embankment at village Khalarda. On receipt of the said information, the Officer-in-Charge, along with his staff, proceeded to Kakatpur Canal Road at village Khalarda, Badasahi, where Tapas Kumar Mulia, the son of the deceased, submitted a written report, which was treated as the First Information Report. On the basis of the said report, Cuttack Sadar P.S. Case No. 251 dtd. 20/10/1998 was registered, marked as Ext.4, and investigation was taken up thereafter.

(3.) In course of the investigation, the I.O. (P.W.19) examined witnesses, held inquest, seized the Luna moped, chappals, blood-stained earth, wearing apparel, hair samples, nail clippings, and other incriminating materials, sent the dead body for post-mortem examination, arrested the accused persons from time to time. The weapon of offence (Bhujali) was recovered on 5/11/1998 and seized under Ext.6. After completion of investigation and receipt of medical and chemical examination reports, charge-sheet was submitted against the Appellants showing some as absconder.