AJIT BHUYAN Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a case of a barbarous most murder close to the category of the rarest of the rare cases deserving capital punishment but for the leniency sentenced to life imprisonment, having found the accused husband guilty of cutting his enceinte wife into pieces and threw into the river not to find her corpus delicti "even after a good searching by police".

(2.) The prosecution story is rather brief but most disturbing. On 9.5.2001 accused/appellant took his wife to a nearby jungle on river bank for collecting fire wood. Both husband and wife went missing. Husband returned home alone after 10(ten) days on 19.5.2001. On being enquired about his wife, he told his own maternal uncle that he had killed his wife and thrown pieced dead body into the river Kakodanga. Ganga Sagar Bhuyan, maternal uncle of the accused informed the police by lodging a written FIR dated 19.5.2001. The crime was registered as Dergaon P.S. Case No. 76/2001 under section 302, Penal Code. The investigation resulted into filing of charge sheet against the accused and committed to Sessions Judge, Golaghat for trial. Charge being framed under section 302, Penal Code the accused pleaded not guilty and claimed to stand trial but he adduced no evidence in his defence although the prosecution examined as many as 7(seven) witnesses during the trial. The accused/appellant stood convicted under section 302, Penal Code and sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000 in default, further RI for 1(one) month by the Sessions Judge, Golaghat vide Judgement dated 11.3.2002.

(3.) Aggrieved by the aforesaid conviction and sentence the accused has preferred this appeal through jail. Unrepresented as he was one Sri P.K. Barman was appointed as amicus curiae. We are told at the bar that the said learned counsel was killed few years back in tragic road accident. Eventually we had to request Mr. R. Adhikari to appear for the accused/appellant amicus curiae, who accepted our request and discharged his duties to our great assistance.