RABBI RAJAK Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ALL the five appellants belong to the same family. Appellant No. 5 is the wife of appellant No. 1 and appellants 2 to 4 are their sons. All of them stand convicted under Section 302/34 of the Penal Code and sentenced by the Trial Court "to undergo imprisonment for life". They are alleged to have caused the death of Tila Devi by hanging her by the neck from a bamboo post in her house by means of a piece of rope. A highly unusual feature of the case is that it is based on a complaint petition filed by the mother of the deceased 19 -days after the occurrence. The Chief Judicial Magistrate before whom the complaint was filed seems to have acted in a very rash and cavalier manner and proceeded to deal with it on the basis of an enquiry under Section 202 of the Cr. P.C. instead of referring the complaint under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and to have the benefit of the larger police investigation into the matter. The result is that in the end all that the Court had before it was the testimonies of some oral witnesses that could not even be tested with reference to their earlier statements made before the police. The Court also did not have any medical evidence or the results of police investigation, particularly the objective findings at the place of occurrence. Consequently, the impugned judgment is based entirely on the oral evidences.

(2.) ON 14.6.1999, a complaint petition was filed on behalf of Jiraman Devi (PW 7) before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kishanganj. It was stated in the complaint that a piece of land bearing plot No. 313 under khata No. 50 thana No. 119 with an area of 3 decimals, situate at mouza Pauwakhali was earlier settled in favour of the complainant. A thatched house was constructed in a corner of the plot and she lived there with her husband and her daughter, Tila Devi. The husband of Tila Devi worked at the Raj Bhawan, Patna and since there was no facility for keeping the family, he had left his wife with her parents and used to send her monthly expenses. It was alleged by the complainant that the appellants had an eye over the piece of land settled in her favour and constantly endeavoured to grab it. There were a number of cases pending in the Court resulting from their attempts to grab the land. It was further stated that the thatched hut of the complainant had got bent -down in a storm and in the afternoon of 26.5.1999 (the date of occurrence) she alongwith her daughter was trying to mend it. At that time, the accused came over the land and started cutting the earth. On being objected to by the complainant and her daughter, a quarrel ensued and they started hitting the complainant and her daughter Tila Devi. The complainant somehow managed to free herself and she went to the Mill (Flour Mill) where her husband used to work to call him. While leaving the spot, she saw the accused -appellants dragging her daughter inside her house. On coming back with her husband, she saw that a large number of people were assembled in her Angan and the appellants were fleeing away from there, carrying their baskets, kudals etc. On going inside the house, she found Tila Devi hanging from a bamboo post by means of a piece of rope. She was struggling to save her life. It is further stated that the rope by means of which she was hanging was cut and she was taken down and was carried to Pothia hospital. There, the doctor(s) refused to treat her and advised to take her to Islampur hospital. Then, the complainant and her helpers carried her to Islampur hospital and admitted her in the hospital there (Islampur falls in the State of West Bengal). But in course of treatment there, she died at 9.30 PM. Her post -mortem was held on the following day after which the body was returned to them and they buried it. In the concluding paragraph of the complaint, it was stated that the complainant gave information about the occurrence at the Police Station and also to the Superintendent of Police, but till the date of filing the complaint, no action was taken on it.

(3.) IN course of trial, the prosecution, in support of its case, examined eight witnesses of which three (i.e. PWs. 3, 2 and 1) were also examined before the Magistrate during the enquiry. Among the eight prosecution witnesses, PWs. 1, 5 and 6 are the eye -witnesses who claimed to have seen the actual act of hanging Tila Devi by the appellants. Complainant herself was examined as PW 7. She deposed about the initial quarrel after which she went away to call her husband and on coming back, she found the appellants fleeing away from her house and her daughter Tila Devi hanging from a bamboo post by means of a piece of rope. PW 8 is the husband of the complainant. He stated that his wife came to inform his about the appellants assaulting her and her daughter and when he alongwith his wife went to their house, he saw the appellants fleeing away and on going inside the house, he found that his daughter Tila Devi was hanging there from a bamboo post. PWs. 2 and 4 similarly saw the appellants fleeing away from the place of occurrence and on coming to the house of the complainant they saw that Tila Devi was lying in the Aangan. She was alive but unconscious and was bleeding from her nose and mouth. PW 3 is the son of PW 1. He is a cycle -cart puller who saw the accused fleeing away from the place of occurrence and who later carried Tila Devi on his THELA first to Pothia hospital and then to Islampur hospital.