STATE OF ORISSA Vs. LENGU SANTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Government Appeal has been filed by the State of Orissa, assailing judgment dated 10.04.1996 passed by the Sessions Judge, Koraput Jeypore, in Sessions Case No. 136 of 1995, holding the accused -Respondent not guilty of the charge Under Sec. 302 I.P.C. & accordingly acquitting him.

(2.) The case of the prosecution in brief, is that the brother of the deceased Nilasa Santa had lodged FIR on 28.12.1994 in the evening stating that his sister was married to the accused ten years back. On 27.12.1994 at noon time, he received information about the death of his sister by cutting of her throat. So he with some villagers came to his sister's house & found her lying dead & the dead body was covered with a bed sheet. Her throat had been cut. On being asked, the accused told that last night (26.12.1994), he was sleeping in the house of his elder brother & his wife (deceased) was sleeping with her two daughters. At night, thief entered into the house, cut her throat & stole cash. Being asked as to why he did not report the matter at the Police Station, he replied that in that case the police would have arrested him. He (accused) requested to settle the matter in the village. The informant became suspicious & called his nephew Hari (son of the deceased) & asked him about the matter & he stated that last night he was sleeping in the house of his Aunt & his two sisters were in the house of his elder father & his parents were sleeping together in their house. At mid -night, his father shouted & he got up & found his father shouting "Chor, Chor" by remaining inside the house & his mother was covered with a bed sheet. Hearing this, the informant asked the villagers to report the matter to the Police Station & returned to his village to call the Ward Member & the Headman. On 28.12.1994, he returned to the village of the accused & found that the matter had not been reported to the police. So he went to the Police Station & on the way he met Dalapati and asked him to guard the dead body, as he is going to report the matter to the Police Station. Thereafter, the police arrived & the informant lodged the FIR orally, which reduced into writing at 7.30 P.M. The police took up investigation & found a Sindhi -hole on the wall of the room where the deceased was lying. The dead body was sent for post -mortem examination & the accused was taken into custody. While in police custody, the accused gave recovery of the blood stained Kati, one Iron rod used for making a hole on the wall & his blood -stained clothes which were seized. The seized articles were sent for chemical examination. On completion of the investigation, the police submitted the Charge Sheet against the accused for commission of the offence Under Sec. 302 Indian Penal Code.

(3.) P.W. 4 is a man belonging to the village of the informant (P.W.1). He stated in his evidence that at first he came to the house of the accused on 28.12.1994 & seeing the dead body & talking with the accused, he returned back to his own village. Next date, i.e. on 29.12.1994, he again came to the village of the accused & the police came & the FIR was lodged. The police arrested the accused. This evidence of P.W. 4 suggests that the police arrested the accused on 29.12.1994 & while in police custody, the accused gave recovery of one blood -stained Kati, which was recovered from the cow -dung pit in his back -yard, one Iron rod from the Attu of his house and one blood -stained shirt and two aluminium pots from the house of his brother and the same were seized. P.W. 4 proved the Kati (M.O.I), the Iron rod (M.O.II) & the seized shirt (M.O.III).