GANPAT TUDU Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE sole appellant, Ganpat Tudu, stands convicted under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and he has been sentenced to R.l. for life for the said offence by the 6th Addl. Sessions Judge, Dumka. The appellant was convicted by the judgment dated 18.1.t994 and by an order dated 20.1.1994 he was sentenced as stated above. He filed this appeal from the jail. His prayer for bail was, however, earlier refused and he continues to be in custody.

(2.) THE prosecution story in short is that on 26th of October, 1988 at about 10.30 AM. one Saheblal Tudu, son of Tik ham Tudu of village Kashjor within the P.S.Jamtara, in the District of Dumka appeared at the Police Station, Jamtara and gave a statement which was recorded in Fardbeyan (Ext.3) by a Police Officer, S.I.Ramdeo Prasad. The informant stated that an occurrence took place in the previous night, i.e., in the night between 25th and 26th of October, 1988 in his house. According to the informant (P.W.7) while he was sleeping in his house with his family in the night, he heard some sound in the Angan and he got up and came out after opening the door of his room. As he came out in the Angan he saw in the moonlight that his cousin brother Ganpat Tudu was holding a Tangi in his hand. The informant also found the door of the room opened in which his father was sleeping, and when he looked inside the room he found his father dead in pool of blood. There were serious injuries on his head. So immediately the informant came out and saw Ganpat Tudu running away with the said Tangi in his hand. The informant raised alarm and also tried to catch hold of the culprit, but he fled away as nobody arrived on his Hulla. Thereafter he saw Rasmuni, wife of his cousin brother Dashrath Tudu, weeping and he also found injuries on the head of Dash -rath Tudu, who was lying in the Angan in injured condition. He enquired from the said Rasmuni, who told him that Ganpat Tudu has assaulted her husband and thereafter he also went inside the room and killed the father of the informant and ran away. He was also told by Rasmuni that she had got up as her child wanted to ease and at that very time the accused arrived and assaulted both the persons. The informant further stated that the occurrence had taken place because of the fact that the informant had some quarrel with the deceased about two -three days earlier regarding the construction of a wall. He stated that his father was already dead but his cousin brother Dashrath Tudu was injured and his condition was serious. So he had brought the said cousin brother of Dashrath Tutu to the hospital and Dashrth Tudu was not in a position to speak. On the basis of this Fardbeyan a formal F.I.R. was later drawn up in the P.S.and the case was registered under sections 448, 526, 307 and 302 of the Indian Penal Code against the appellant Ganpat Tudu, and the investigation was taken up by the said S.I.Ramdeo Prasad, Officer In -charge of the Police Station. Later Dasrath Tudu also died in the hospital and the Police Officer' prepared the inquest reports of the two dead persons, inspected the P.O. and recorded the statement of the witnesses. The accused Ganpat Tudu, the appellant, was also produced in the Police Station by the Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat concerned, namely, Yasin Shekh (P.W.2) and he was taken into custody. Ganpat Tudu made some confessional statement before the Police Officer and also pointed out the weapon of offence thrown in the field at some distance from the P.O. and also pointed out a portion of Dhoti hanging with a tree, where he had attempted to commit suicide after committing the double murder of his brother and uncle, but he could not succeed in committing suicide and then he met the Sarpanch, Yasin Shekh (P.W.2), and told him that he had committed murder and had also tried to commit suicide but the Dhoti was torn which was hanging with the tree and he sought help of P.W.2 to get him produced in the P.S. and accordingly, P.W.2 took him to the Police Station. The Police Officer also sent the seized weapon which was a Katta and also some blood stained earth collected from the P.O. and the piece of Dhoti seized by him to Forensic Science Laboratory where the same were examined and the report was also received. On completing investigation the I.O. submitted charge sheet in the case. Accordingly, the cognizance was taken and the case was committed to the court of Sessions. The trial commenced before the 3rd Addl. Sessions Judge and subsequently it was transferred to the 6th Addl. Sessions Judge, Dumka where the trial concluded and the judgment and order as stated above, were passed. The appeal was preferred by the convict from the prison but a counsel Sri Sunil Kumar Mandal appeared for the appellant as , Amicus Curiae to assist the Court.

(3.) IN order to bring home the charge against the accused the prosecution examined altogether 11 witnesses in this case; out of them P.W.1 Dr. A.K.Chakervorty was the doctor who had performed the autopsy over the two dead bodies while he was posted in Sub -divisional Hospital, Jamtara as C.A.S. P.W.2 Yasin Shekh happened to be the Sarpanch of the Gram kutchery, Supaidih and the P.O. village also lies within the jurisdiction of this Gram Kutchery. He is a witness on the point of extra judicial confession of the accused in the case and also on the point of recovery of the weapon of offence and the piece of Dhoti on being pointed out by him. P.W.3 Rasmani Murmu is an eye witness to the occurrence. She happens to be the wife of Dasrath Tudu, who was one of the two persons killed in this incident. P.W.4 Jamani Soren and P.W.6 Sokharam Marandi are tendered. P.W.5 Munni Murmu is the wife of one Likhan Tudu, one of the deceased and she has stated that on hulla she got up in the night of occurrence and she also found the wife of Dashrath Tudu weeping and then she found injuries on the deceased persons and also learnt about the occurrence. P.W.7 Saheb Lal Tudu is the informant himself. P.W.8 Rasik Hembram happens to be the village Chaukidar of the P.O. village and he had received information about the occurrence in the morning following the alleged night of occurrence and thereafter he took the informant to the P.S. where his statement was recorded by the Police Officer. P.W.9 Kartik Murmu is formal witness, who has proved the inquest report and has stated that he has put his L.T.I. on the same. P.W. 10 Balmiki Goswami is also a formal witness who had produced some documents and materials in the court. He has proved the formal F.I.R. (Ext.4) and two inquest reports (Ext.5 and 5/1) and also the seizure list (Ext.6). P.W. 11 Satya Narain Singh is also a formal witness who produced the reports of Forensic Science Laboratory and proved the entry in the Malkhana register of the court. The relevant entry is Ext.7. Two reports of the Forensic Science Laboratory are Exts. 8 and 8/1. This P.W. 11 also produced and proved the materials, namely, the sword or Katta, a piece of Dhoti and blood stained earth as material Exts. I, II and III.