STATE OF BIHAR Vs. NAUSHAD ALAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Md. Naushad Alam has been convicted for the offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code by Judgemnt and Order dated 11th June, 2003 passed by Additional District and Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court No.1, Araria in Sessions Trial No. 2 of 1996, Tr. No. 229/02, and has been awarded death sentence. The reference made by the trial court for confirmation of the death sentence and the appeal preferred by Md. Naushad Alam have been heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) The materials on record, particularly the evidence of the investigating Officer P.W.11, Shivaji Singh reveal a rather unusual happening in the morning of 19.4.1995 at about 8.05 A.M. P.W.11 who was then posted as Officer-in-Charge of Araria Police Station, received telephonic message from the residence of Superintendent of Police, Araria that a person giving the name and description of the appellant Naushad Alam had gone to the residence of the S.P. and had claimed that he had committed murder of his wife. A Sanha Entry No. 521 (Ext.4) was made by the Officer-in-Charge and then he went to the residence of the S.P. and saw the appellant, who stated before P.W.11 that he had committed murder of his wife. The accused was brought to police station where the Officer-in-Charge recorded his statement on which the appellant signed and the same was entered as Sanha Entry No. 522 dated 19.4.1995 (Ext.4/1) and on the basis of both the Sanhas, in order to verify the claim of the accused, the Officer-in-Charge (P.W.11) went to the address of the appellant at village Rampur Mohanpur with police force for investigation. He found the door of the room described as Baithk a locked. P.W.11 opened the door by breaking the lock in presence of villagers such as Jamaluddin son of Asad Ali (P.W. 8) and entered into the room. There he found the deceased Bibi Nasrin, wife of the appellant, lying dead on a small Palang (bed stead). She had been killed by slitting of her throat. The Officer-in-Charge sent Dalpati, Gulam Rasul to call Sabir Alam (P.W. 6), father of the deceased, a resident of the same village. On the basis of Fardbeyan (Ext.2) of Sabir, a formal F.I.R. (Ext. 6) was recorded by P.W.11 on 19.4.95 at 9.00 A.M.

(3.) The fardbeyan (Ext. 2) discloses that according to P.W. 6, the informant, he had married his daughter Bibi Nasrin with Naushad, the appellant about one and half years ago. Naushad began beating his daughter just after few days of marriage. When persuasion of informant did not bring any change in Naushad, the informant stopped visiting Naushad's house since last two months. He had received information on that day at about 7 A.M. from his younger daughter Najrin (P.W. 5) that Naushad had broken Nasrin's arm by beating her. The informant asked his niece to find out the reason for the beating and became busy in his work. He received information from Dalpati, Gulam Rasul at his house that police had come and that his daughter had been killed. Then he reached the place of occurrence and found that throat of his daughter Nasrin had been silt with some sharp edged weapon. He has asserted that Nasrin's husband had killed her with a knife.