PADMA BISWAL Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CONVICTION under Section 302 I P. C (wrongly mentioned as 302/34, I. P. C.) and sentence of imprisonment for life imposed against the appellant is under challenge in this Criminal Appeal.

(2.) ACCORDING to the case of the prosecution on 16. 11. 1999 morning deceased Rita was found dead in her matrimonial house. Accused appellant is her husband and the two acquitted accused persons viz. Nanka biswal and Pari Biswal are her parents-in-law. Her marriage with appellant took place in the year 1998 and the death occurred within a period of seven years of her marriage with the appellant. Udayanath-Nahak is father of the deceased. While he was in his agricultural field, he got information about the death of the deceased and after reaching the house of the accused persons he found his daughter lying dead in the third room of the house and there was ligature mark around the neck. Accordingly, he lodged the F. I. R. , Ext. 7/1. The Officer in-charge, Kodala P. S. received the F. I. R. and arrived at the spot for investigation. On his requisition, P. W. 11, the then Tahasildar-cum-Executive Magistrate, Kodala also arrived at the spot to be a witness to the inquest. In course of the spot visit, P. W. 10 held inquest over the dead body of the deceased, seized the rope. M. O. I, from the Attu of that room, examined the witnesses and forwarded the dead body for post-mortem examination. At the time of inquest not only p. W. 10 but also the witnesses to the inquest doubted it to be a case of homicidal death. On 16. 11. 1999 itself, P. W. 10 arrested parents-in-law of the deceased and on 19. 11. 1999. he arrested the appellant. The assistant Professor, F. M. T Department of m. K. C. G. Medical College, P. W. 1 conducted the post-mortem examination. On completion of investigation, charge-sheet was filed against the appellant and his parents for various offences i. e. under Sections 498-A/304-B/302/406, (for misappropriation of ornaments of the deceased and for Dowry acts)/34, I. P. . C. besides for the offences under Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act. Accused persons denied to the charge and claimed for trial as against the charge framed for the aforesaid offences by the trial court.

(3.) TO substantiate the charge, prosecution examined 11 witnesses and relied on documents marked Exts. 1 to 12, besides a document marked for identification as 'x' and the negative and positive photographs of the deceased marked 'y' for identification. Prosecution tendered in evidence some material objects such as, the rope, M. O. I, and the wearing apparels of the deceased M. Os. II to V. Accused persons did not adduce any defence evidence.