STATE OF ORISSA Vs. BASANTA BAG

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a reference by the Sessions Judge of Sambalpur for confirmation of the sentence of death passed on the appellant Basanta Bag for having committed murder of a boy aged four years in Sambalpur town on 17-3-1958. The condemned person filed an appeal from Jail and the appeal and the reference were heard together and will be dealt with in this judgment.

(2.) THE deceased whose name was Prakash Chandra Varma alias Babu was the son of one Janardan Presad Varma (P. W. 3) a teacher of Sambalpur Zilla School. Janardan had six daughters, the youngest being a child aged one and a half years and only one son namely the deceased. He was residing in a double-storeyed house in Sambalpur town with his wife Rajeswari (P. W. 6) and his children. The accused also used to reside in Sambalpur town in the house of his sister Arati kuntuni (P. W 1) and was selling biscuits. The members of the family of Janardan presad Varma used to call him "the Biscuit wala" because for about six to seven years, he used to come to their house and sell biscuits. The boy Babu was said to have become very much attached to the Biscuit-wala. For some months, prior to the occurrence the accused stopped selling biscuits because the Biscuit Manufacturer would not supply him biscuits on credit. He then took to selling eggs and it is alleged by the prosecution that he was supplying eggs to Varma's family and also receiving cash from Rajeswari. It was further alleged that while receiving cash from the woman, he came to know that she kept her cash and valuables in one of the inner rooms of the first floor. The case for the prosecution is that on 17-3-1958, the accused went to the house of Rajeswari just after noon knowing that nobody would be there except the woman and her younger children, with the object of committing theft of cash and ornaments from the house by murdering some of the inmates, if necessary. The need for committing such an atrocious crime arose mainly because of the straitened circumstances in which the accused was placed at that time. He owed about Rs. 22/- to one Dasarathi Dehury (P. W. 4) and also some money to a hotelkeeper (P. W. 13) for having taken meals on credit. His own sister (P. W. 1) was not giving him free food and insisted on his paying for the same. The urgent need for money is said to be responsible for the commission of such a crime on a family which had done him no harm whatsoever.

(3.) BEFORE discussing the circumstances under which the murder was committed, as spoken to by the prosecution witnesses, it is necessary to briefly describe the house of Mr. Varma as noted by the Sessions Judge during his local inspection. The first floor consisted of two living rooms and a kitchen. The cash and valuable of the family were kept in the inner room of the first floor. On the ground floor, there were four rooms, the first one being known as the Office Room and the second one leading to a small corridor in which there was a staircase leading to the first floor. There was also a store room in the ground floor and another room in a corner which was said to have been used as a lumber room for keeping the useless articles of the house.