JAI SINGH Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appeal (from jail), has been filed against the judgment dated 30.12.2002 of learned Sessions Judge, Kinnaur Sessions Division at Rampur Bushahr, whereby the Appellant had been convicted of the offences under Section 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced as follows:

(2.) Case of the prosecution, which has led to the conviction and the punishment of the Appellant may be summed up thus. Appellant used to live in the Doghari of one Satya Devi in village Sudharang in Kinnaur District alongwith his wife Reema (deceased) and his minor son named Suraj, aged about 8/9 years (also deceased). It appears that the Appellant used to suspect the fidelity of his wife. On 8.10.2001, around 6.30 in the morning, he went to the house of Satya Devi PW2 ( in whose Doghari he used to live in village Sudharang), at Kalpa, which is at a distance of 2 Kilometer from Sudharang and demanded some money from her. He told her that he had taken liquor and his wife and son had run away in the night. Satya Devi gave Rs. 100/- to the Appellant and at the same time, she made a telephonic call to her nephew Raj Kumar (PW-1) who lived in village Sudharang, and asked him to find out where the wife and the son of the Appellant had gone. Said Raj Kumar, on getting the aforesaid call, went to the Doghari where the Appellant, his wife and son used to live and spotted stains of blood on the wooden floor. That made him apprehensive about the safety of the wife and the son of the Appellant. He searched for them around the Doghari and saw their dead-bodies in a cave like hollow portion among the boulders at a distance of about 50 meters from the Doghari. Raj Kumar then went to one Bhagwan Pal, who probably lived nearby, and told him about his having spotted the dead-bodies. Bhagwan Pal, in turn, made a telephonic call to the Police Station, Rekong Peo, at 8.10 a.m. On getting the telephonic information, ASI Pritam Singh (PW-8) of Police Station, Rekong Peo, went to the spot, where he recorded the statement of Raj Kumar (PW- 1), under Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure( Ext. PW1/A) and sent the same to the Police Station, for the formal registration of the case. Thereafter, he got the dead-bodies photographed and then managed to get the same retrieved from the aforesaid cave. Again some snaps of the dead- bodies were taken. The said Assistant Sub Inspector then conducted the inquest proceedings and sent the dead-bodies to the District Hospital at Kalpa, for post-mortem examination. Dr. Anand (PW-5) and one more Doctor conducted the autopsy of both the dead-bodies. Following injuries were noticed on the dead-bodies of the lady:

(3.) A lacerated wound of 4 cm. x 3 cm. x bone deep over right side of frontal region.