JAKRIAS BADA Vs. STATE OF ODISHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant before us faced trial for murder in S.T. Case No.158/69 of 2003 in the Court of learned Adhoc Additional District and Sessions Judge, Sundargarh and being convicted of the said offence was sentenced to imprisonment for life vide judgment dtd. 29/4/2004. Said judgment is impugned in the present appeal.

(2.) Prosecution case, briefly stated, is that on 18/6/2002 at about 8 P.M. the deceased (Herman Bada) was lying on a mat placed on a rocky surface in front of their house due to heat.His wife and daughters were separating mahua flowers from their seeds. At that time, the accused-Jakrias Bada, who is the son of the deceased from his first marriage, came and demanded his share of the land in village Mahulagaon. The deceased asked him to wait till marriage of his other son and daughters. At this, the accused was enraged and brought out a bamboo stick and assaulted the deceased with it. As a result, he died at the spot. The wife of the deceased and his daughters concealed themselves out of fear and found the deceased dead after their return with blood flowing from his nostrils. They informed the matter to Jusab Kerketta, who was the Ward Member. When Jusab asked the accused about the incident, he confessed of killing him for not conceding to his demand for share in the land. Jusab lodged a report before Talasara Police Station basing on which P.S. Case No.36 of 2002 was registered followed by investigation. Upon completion of investigation, the charge sheet was submitted against the accused under Sec. 302 of IPC.

(3.) The accused took the plea of denial. Additionally, he claimed that his father was ill and that he fell down on the rocky surface at about 11 P.M. in the night and asked for water, which was given to him and thereafter, he asked his mother and sisters to call Nicolas Francis Lakra but no one responded in the night. He informed everyone at about 4 A.M., hearing which all the villagers came.