SING TERRANG Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. M. Dutta, Amicus Curiae for the petitioner and Ms. S. Jahan, learned P.P. for the respondent.

(2.) This is a criminal jail appeal directed against the judgment and order of the Court of Sessions Judge, Karbi anglong dated 3.7.2018 convicting the accused Sing Terang, s/o Langtuk Terang, Village of Bonteng Teran Gaon, Bokajan, Karbi Anglong for the murder of Mrs. Kardi Teranpi, village Bonteng, Teran Gaon P.S., Bokajan district, Karbi Anglong.

(3.) The brief story of the prosecution is that on 23.08.1988, informant lodged a complaint with the Dillai Outpost on 22.08.1988, that the deceased Kardi Teranpi was killed in her paddy field while she was harvesting. The accused person shot dead the deceased at about 3:30 P.M. A case was registered under Bokajan Police Station as case No. 190/88 under Section 302, IPC. The investigation examined as many as 17witnesses. Statement of accused under Section 313, of the Code of Criminal Procedure,1973 (Cr.PC) was recorded. Statement of accused under Section 164, of the Cr.PC was also recorded and on leading of evidence, the learned District and Sessions Judge found accused guilty of the offence under Section 302, IPC and convicted the accused to undergo rigorous life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/- and in default to undergo 6 months S.I. The learned District Judge proceeded to convict the accused by virtue of circumstantial evidence which was recorded through different witnesses and corroborated with the confessional statement of the accused. Despite the absence of eyewitness in the case, found the accused to be guilty of the offence under Section 302,IPC. The evidence shows that the accused, on 22.08.1988, went to the paddy field forhunting wild pig from the paddy field and on arrival at the paddy field he fired upon the woman, namely Kardi Teranpi, deceased whose field was situated by the side of thepaddy field of accused believing her to be a wild pig and thereby caused the death of the deceased. Thereupon, the accused, on his own volition immediately after the occurrence surrendered before the police with the gun and cartridges. In his confession before the Magistrate, the accused stated that often wild boar came out to graze in the paddy field in their area. The wild boars/pigs sometimes appeared during the night hours and sometimes during the day time. On the day of occurrence, he came out of his house at about 2 P.M. alongwith his SBBL and went towards the paddy field in search of wild boars. On the way, he asked the little children of the deceased if anybody was working in the paddy filed. They replied that no one was in the paddy field. On reaching the paddy field, soon after, he heard some sound like that of a wild boar grazing (chap,chap, chap). He thought that a wild boar was eating paddy in the field. He saw something like a wild boar. Satisfied that it was nothing but a wild boar he shot at the moving object and it hit the head of the woman and she died instantaneously, without making a sound. When he went to the exact spot, he saw that she was a woman and not a wild boar. She was his own uncle's daughter. He could recognize her on reaching the spot and on seeing her face. He had shot the gun from about 60 feet away and he did not know that a person was there. He thought that it was only a wild boar as he had seen something black like object. After the incident he came to know that it was not a wild boar but a woman and that she was sitting in the paddy field and eating khira. After the occurrence of the incident he went to Bokajan Police Station with his gun and surrendered there and told the police what had happened there. This statement of theaccused has corroboration with the statement of PW-14, Mr. Ganadhar Boarah, who was the OC at the relevant time.