STATE OF ORISSA Vs. MOHAN MAHANTO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BOTH the Death Reference and the Jail Criminal Appeal arise out of the judgment and order passed by the learned Ad hoc Addl. Sessions Judge, fast Track Court, Rourkela in Sessions Trial no. 143/38 of 2006 convincing the appellant for commission of offence under Section 302, IPC and sentencing him to death and also to pay fine of Rs. 5000/ -. No default sentence has been passed for non-payment of fine amount.

(2.) ACCUSATION in the case relates to commission of gruesome murder by the appellant of his wife Muni Mahanto and son Babu, who was aged about one year in the night of 12/13 January, 2006. P. W. 1 is the deceased's brother whereas the informant, p. W. 4 is the appellant's neighbour. Prosecution case is that the appellant was residing with his deceased-wife and son as a tenant in the house belonging to P. W. 9 at bisra. There was frequent quarrel between the appellant and the deceased-wife. The appellant was present in his house with the deceased persons and some sounds were heard from the house of appellant in the night of occurrence, In the morning of 13-1-2006, P. W. 4 and others found the door of the appellant's house was lying open and the dead bodies of the deceased persons, muni and Babu lying inside the house with cut injury on the neck of the deceased-Muni and a handkerchief tied around deceased-Babu's neck. One iron paniki (M. O. I) stained with blood and a lathi (M. O. II) were lying nearby. The appellant was found absent. The informant P. W. 4 lodged an F. I. R. , Ext. 4 at bisra P. S. , on the basis of which P. W. 10, the Inspector-in-charge, Bisra Police Station registered the case and took up Investigation. In course of investigation, P. W. 10, inter alia, held inquest over the dead body, effected seizures of M. O. I and M. O. II and got the dead bodies subjected to postmortem examination by P. W. 7 Dr. Khan at bisra C. H. C, In spite of search, the appellant was found to be absconding till 30-7-2006 when he was apprehended in his native vulage Teterkella. Prosecution asserts that the appellant made extra-judicial confession to have killed his wife and son before P. W. 9. On completion of investigation, charge-sheet was submitted against the appellant.

(3.) THE appellant pleaded denial to the charge. In his examination under Section 313, Cr. P. C. , the appellant took a specific plea that he left for Punjab on 20-12-2005.