MANU NAG Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Criminal Appeal is arisen out of the judgment of conviction and sentence passed by the then learned 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, Singhbhum at Chaibassa by which the learned trial Judge convicted the appellant for the offence under Section 302, I.P.C. and he was sentenced to R.I. for life and also to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000.00 and in default to undergo S.I. for six months.

(2.) The case of the prosecution in brief, as stated that on 6 -11 -1987 at about 8 a.m. the Informant along with her husband Tepal Tamaria had gone to Gulu Bazar to purchase rice. They purchased rice worth Rs. SO.00. The son of informant Ratan returned from the market and at about 3 p.m. the informant along with her husband started from the market for their house and they reached near Karla Pahar when her husband asked her to go to the house and prepare the meal and he would come later on and thereafter the Informant went to her house alone leaving behind her husband and she cooked the meal but her husband did not return to the house till 8 p.m. Thereafter, she became anxious and thereafter she started searching her husband along with her son Manki and went to the place where she had left him. It is further alleged that when they reached at a distance about 2 k.m. north near Karla Pahar, they saw the dead body of her husband and she also saw several injuries on the person of dead body caused by sharp -cutting weapon and thereafter she started weeping and crying and thereafter her elder son, daughter -in -law also rushed there. Thereafter, they took the dead -body and brought the same near Raru river. It is further alleged that the villagers also reached there. She sent both her sons to Munda and Manki to inform about the occurrence and the villagers who reached there were keeping guard over the dead body. On the next morning, Manki reached there to whom she narrated the entire incident. Manki with the help of villagers removed the dead -body to Bandgaon Police Station and she also went to the police station where she gave her statement in Mundari language and accordingly, the F.I.R. was registered. The Informant stated in the F.I.R. that the villagers used to call her witch and for that reason her husband (deceased) used to abuse the villagers and she suspected that some unknown person might have killed her husband.

(3.) The police investigated into the case and submitted charge -sheet against the appellant. The witnesses were examined in the lower Court and after hearing both sides and considering the evidence on record, the learned trial Judge convicted the appellant and sentenced him to undergo R.I. for life and he was also fined for Rs. 1,000.00.