PRAVAKAR BAITHA Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this case of uxoricide, Prabhakar Baitha has been convicted, by Order Dated 22.12.1998, by the Learned Sessions Judge, Mayurbhanj, Baripada in S.T. No. 118 of 1997 for the offence Under Section 302 Indian Penal Code for having committed murder of his wife & sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life. Such conviction & sentence have been challenged in this appeal.

(2.) BEREFT of unnecessary details, the case of the prosecution in short, is that the convict -Appellant & his wife, i.e., deceased Saibani Baitha, were residing in village Kuliolab. The accused alleged to have suspected the character of the deceased for which there was ill -feeling between them. It is further alleged that the deceased was being ill -treated both physically & mentally by the accused. Because of such ill -treatment, the daughter of the deceased & the accused, namely, Mamata used to stay in her matrimonial uncle's house during the relevant period. It is further alleged that in the early hours of the morning of 17.7.1996, the accused left his house to attend the call of nature. After attending the call of nature, he returned to his house. Informant Sachidananda Baitha who happens to be a nephew of the accused, at about 7.30 A.M. on 17.7.1996, was informed by Binu, the younger brother of the accused Pravakar, that Prabhakar has committed murder of Saibani by means of a 'Kuradi' (axe). The informant went to the house of the accused & found that the deceased was lying near the door of her house with bleeding injuries on her head. He also noticed bleeding from the mouth & nose of the deceased. The informant searched for the accused. But he had already absconded. Then the informant lodged a written FIR before the ASI, Nuduhida Bit House. The ASI of the said Bit house made a station diary entry & took up preliminary investigation. Thereafter the ASI transmitted the case to the OIC Kaptipada P.S. over VHF & took up investigation of the case. On that juncture, the Grama Rakshi -Abhiram Sahoo appeared before him at the Bit House at Nuduhida with the accused Prabhakar Baitha. Thereafter the 10 visited the spot. He collected the blood soaked sample earth from the spot, examined witnesses, held inquest over the dead body of the deceased, dispatched the dead body of the deceased for post -mortem examination & arrested the accused. He also seized the weapon of offence. On the next day, he forwarded the accused to the Court. After completion of investigation, he submitted charge -sheet against the accused under Section 302 Indian Penal Code. The accused took the plea of denial & pleaded that he has been falsely roped in this case by his cousin Dibakar.

(3.) THE defence neither examined any witness nor led any document into evidence in support of his defence plea.