BIBHISAN MUTRU MAHANTA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant having been convicted under section 302 I.P.C. and sentenced to imprisonment for life has preferred this appeal from jail. The case against the appellant as developed by the prosecution is that he is the nephew (husbands younger brothers son) of the deceased Parbati who was aged about eighty years, and was cultivating her lands. Since the deceased let out her lands to one Champai Oram on Bhag basis, the appellant had protested and nourished a grudge against her for which in the morning of 10.3.81 at about 10 or 10.30 a.m. he came to her house with an axe, M.O. 1, and threatened to kill her since she did not give him any land. As Parbati out of fear entered inside her house, he broke open the door, entered inside and axed her down while she was shouting for being rescued as she was being killed. The incident wa5 seen by P.W. 6, her nephew having the adjoining house, and who was chased away on threat of assault by the appellant when he went to the courtyard of Parbati asking the appellant as to why he was assaulting her.

(2.) Besides the ocular statement of the sole eye-witness P.W. 6, the case against the appellant is sought to be established through the evidence of P.W. 1, the medical officer who conducted the postmortem examination; P. Ws. 2 and 3 who were witnesses to production of the axe M.O. 1 by the appellant while In custody; P.W.4 examined to prove the motive on the part of the appellant to commit the crime; P.W. 5 the person before whom an extra-judicial confession by the appellant was made; P.W. 7 the Gramrakshi who was Informed by P. Ws. 4 and 5 of the fact of the appellant having killed Parbati and who lodged the FIR and P.W. 8, the Investigating officer; P.W. 9 is the R.I. who on police requisition had prepared the spot map. Ext. 16.

(3.) In his defence the appellant denied the occurrence contending the same to have been started falsely against him and maintaining to have gone away to Bonai having boarded the bus In the morning at 7.30 to 8.00 a.m. at Amgaon and having returned on the same day and of having been arrested by the police after getting down from the bus when he was proceeding to the hospital to a relation.