SUNITA Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE instant appeal has been filed by the accused/appellant Sunita against the order passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Karnal, in Sessions Case No. 17 of 2004, decided on 13.1.2006. By the impugned Judgment, out of the three accused, namely, Sunita, Ashok and Seth Pal, only Sunita i.e. the accused/appellant herein, has been convicted for having committed the murder of Sushila, under Sections 302 of the Indian Penal Code. The accused/appellant Sunita has also been convicted under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code. By a separate order dated 20.1.2006, the accused/appellant Sunita has been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/ -, under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. In default of payment of fine, she has been ordered to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for one month. The accused/appellant Sunita has additionally, been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for three years and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/ -, under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code. In default of payment of fine, she has been directed to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for fifteen days. It was ordered that the substantive sentences would run concurrently.

(2.) THE prosecution version of the incident is based on the complaint of Isham Singh PW3, made to Inspector Baljinder Singh PW20, on 15.6.2004. As per the complaint, the complainant Isham Singh PW3 had married his daughter Sushila with Shish Pal of village Dadola. From her aforesaid marriage, the complainant's daughter Sushila had one son and one daughter. Her son Sagar was aged about three and a half years and her daughter Shivani was aged about one and a half years. As per the complainant Isham Singh PW3, his daughter Sushila's father -in -law's brother Roshan DW2 had three daughters, namely, Sunita (the accused/appellant herein), Santosh and Geeta. The complainant also stated that Roshan's daughter Sunita was married to Babu Ram of village Kailash. According to the complainant Isham Singh PW3, his daughter Sushila, the family of her in -laws, as also, Roshan DW2 lived at village Dadola, and since the house of Sushila was attached to the house of Roshan DW2, Sushila used to look after Roshan DW2. Sunita (the accused/appellant herein), Roshan's daughter, was apprehensive that her father Roshan DW2 would transfer his property in the name of Sushila. In view of her aforesaid apprehension, she used to tell Sushila, whenever they met at village Dadola, that she (Sunita) had a right to her father's (Roshan's) property being his daughter. According to the complainant Isham Singh PW3, the deceased Sushila had told this to him, as also, to his wife Kanti (being father and mother of the deceased Sushila) many times. The complainant Isham Singh PW3 also asserted that his daughter Sushila was planning to go to village Sangatehra in U.P. to present gifts to her nephew on 3.1.2004. On the date of the departure of Sushila for Sangatehra, the accused/appellant Sunita daughter of Roshan DW2 was also at village Dadola, and had left the village Dadola alongwith Sushila. Both Sunita and Sushila had their respective children with them. Sushila and her children went missing thereafter. On 9.1.2004, the complainant's son -in -law Shish Pal (Sushila's husband) informed the complainant Isham Singh PW3 on telephone, that he had seen the photographs of his missing children Sagar and Shivani in a news paper, and that, his children as per the newspaper report were with the Manav Sewa Sangh, Panipat. Shish Pal also told the complainant Isham Singh PW3 that Sushila was not with her children at Panipat. The complainant Isham Singh PW3 on receiving the aforesaid information, left for village Dadola. By the time, the complainant Isham Singh PW3 reached village Dadola, Shish Pal had brought back his children from Panipat. According to the complainant Isham Singh PW3, on 16.1.2004, he came to know that one lady was burnt in a bitora (stock of cow -dung cakes) at village Kailash. Whereupon, the complainant and his brother -in -law Kashmir Singh PW12, on the same day, went to village Kailash to make enquiries. On making enquiries, he came to know that the aforesaid incident had taken place during the night intervening 3/4.1.2004. In his complaint, the complainant Isham Singh PW3 expressed the suspicion that the accused/appellant Sunita daughter of Roshan DW2, with the assistance of some other persons, had murdered his daughter Sushila for the greed of the property of her father Roshan DW2, and thereafter, had burnt her body in a bitora so as to destroy evidence. On the basis of the aforesaid complaint made by the complainant Isham Singh PW3 to Inspector Baljinder Singh PW20, First Information Report bearing No. 168 was registered at Police Station Sadar, Karnal on 15.6.2004.

(3.) IN furtherance of the registration of the complaint by the complainant Isham Singh PW3, Inspector Baljinder Singh PW20 partly investigated the matter. So far as the investigation made in furtherance of the report lodged by Munshi Ram of village Kailash is concerned, the same was conducted by SI Shamsher Singh PW14. As a part of the investigation, SI Shamsher Singh PW14 had taken the blood samples of the complainant Isham Singh PW3 and of his wife Kanti (i.e. the natural parents of the deceased Sushila). On the culmination of the investigation and other police formalities, challan was presented in the Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Karnal, on 5.8.2004.