JAGRITI DEVI Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 2.11.1998 of the learned Sessions Judge, Shimla passed in Sessions Trial No. 22 -S/7 of 1997 convicting Smt. Jagriti Devi, appellant herein, for the offence of murder of Smt. Shama Devi, second wife of her husband Mohinder Singh and sentencing her to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay fine of Rs. 2,000. In default of payment of fine, the appellant shall undergo simple imprisonment for a period of one year.

(2.) The prosecution case is as follows: - The appellant is a legally wedded wife of Mohinder Singh resident of village Chirgaon, Tehsil Rohru, District Shimla. After the marriage, the appellant gave birth to five children, four daughters and one son. About 2 -3 months before the occurrence which took place on 2.6.1996, Mohinder Singh brought Smt. Shama Devi as his second wife. The appellant never tolerated Smt. Shama Devi as her co -wife and often quarrelled with her. It is the prosecution case that the appellant waited for an opportunity to do away the life of Smt. Shama Devi and ultimately, she got the opportunity on 2.6.1996 when her husband Mohinder Singh had gone to Rohru on the previous day and did not return. The appellant made Smt. Shama Devi to sleep in the verandah of her house on the night intervening 1/ 2.6.1996. On 2.6.1996, around 6 a.m., when Smt. Shama Devi was still asleep in the verandah, the appellant assaulted her with a Khukri. She dealt a number of blows on her head and one blow on the neck. The blows were so forceful that Smt. Shama Devi not only suffered cut injuries on the head and the neck, but her brain was also lacerated. The muscles of her neck got cut and within a few hours of the infliction of the injuries, she breathed her last. After committing the crime, the appellant fled -away from the scene of occurrence with the weapon of offence. Before doing so, she washed her hands and face at the water tap in front of her house. Her own daughter Divya (PW 16), then aged about 12 years, and two small sons of her husbands brother, namely, Vikram (PW -18) and Vijay Singh (PW -19), saw the appellant committing the ghastly crime. They narrated the incident to their grand -father Devi Saran (PW -2), who was sleeping in the adjoining verandah. A boy named Rajesh went to inform Naresh Kumar (PW -1) brother of the deceased, who lived in village Maktot, situated not very far off from the village of the appellants husband. PW -Naresh Kumar came to the spot and saw his sister lying unconscious, with number of bleeding injuries on her head and neck. He went to the Police Post, Chirgaon and lodged the report. The report was entered in the Rojnamcha (Ex. PN) and a copy of the said report was sent to the Police Station, Rohru, on the basis of which formal First Information Report (FIR Ex. PV) came to be registered on the same day at 11. a.m. Sub -Inspector Dhanpat Rai (PW -20) then posted as Additional Station House Officer at Police Station, Rohru immediately rushed to the spot. He found Smt. Shama Devi dead and conducted the inquest report Ex. PA. He also got the scene photographed and thereafter despatched the dead body to the Civil Hospital, for post -mortem examination. He took into possession blood soaked Dhathu (a piece of cloth put on by a lady on her head) of the deceased which was lying on the spot. He also took into possession guilt, a pillow cover and a bed sheet of the deceased. All these articles were also soaked in blood. A blood stained tuft hair of the deceased was also lying on the spot which was also taken into possession.

(3.) The post -mortem was conducted by Dr. Rajesh Sakkar (PW -14), who noticed the following ante mortem external injuries on the dead body of Smt. Shama Devi : - (i) Multiple wounds on the scalp ; (ii) A single lacerated wound extending from right ear to neck; (iii) A deep incised wound on the right upper limb (lower end) 2" x 1/2" extending deep into the muscle, exposing ulnar bone; (iv) A deep incised wound from right ear (cutting lower end of lower lobule) to lower down neck 4" x 1/2" extending deep into the bone; On opening the scalp, following wounds were noticed on the right parietal region extending upto occipital region: - (i) 6" x 1 -1/2" exposing scalp and extending into bone and brain matter (right parietal region); (ii) 4x1/2" extending into bone and brain matter (right parietal region); (iii) Clean lacerated wound 3" x 1" right parietal region extending to occipital region; (iv) Deep lacerated wound 4" x 1/2" long in occipital region extending into bone and brain matter; (v) Depressed comminuted fracture involving right parietal and occipital region.