KISHORI DEVI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant before this Court is a woman who by the trial Court has been found guilty of causing death by an act intending to cause miscarriage and is sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years under Section 314 of the Penal Code. At the beginning there were two other male co-accused with the appellant. One of the accused Laxman Singh died just before the framing of the charge and his name was expunged from the record of the case by order, dated 17-11-1986 passed by the trial Court. Another co-accused Birendra Sharma went all the way with this appellant in facing the trial. However, by the same judgment by which the present appellant was convicted and sentenced, he was acquitted with the finding recorded by the trial Court that there was no evidence direct or circumstantial to connect him with the alleged offence.

(2.) The prosecution case was instituted on the basis of a written report (Ext. 2) made by a certain Madan Mohan Sharma (PW2) on 8-2-1982 at 1.30 p.m. who was posted at that time as Sub-Inspector of Police at Muzaffarpur town police station. A formal FIR (Ext.3) incorporating the written report was later drawn up on the same day at 2.30 p.m. In his written report, Madan Mohan Sharma stated that on receiving confidential information, he along with Assistant Sub-inspector of Police S. Salam and Sachidanand Jha. Havaldar of the town police station, Muzaffarpur came to the place of the appellant Kishori Devi, wife of late Laxrnan Singh at Mohalla Balughat, New Colony, Muzaffarpur. On making enquiry, there he came to learn that one or two days earlier an unkown girl who was in the state of pregnancy was brought to the house of the appellant by a person who was known as Birendra Sharma Jee and who resided in the same Mohalla (the other accused acquitted by the trial Court); that in the night of 7-2-1982 that girl was killed by the appellant, Laxrnan Singh and Birendra Sharma who fled away leaving her body inside a room in the house. It was further stated in the report that thereupon the informant opened the room by undoing its chain in presence of two Mohalla witnesses, namely, Hiralal Pd. (PW-1) and Arvind Kumar (not examined as witness). On going inside the room, he found the body of an unknown girl in a lifeless state lying on a wooden chowki and covered by a blanket and a sheet. He examined the body after removing the blanket and the sheet and made enquiries but the body could not be identified. The report concluded by expressing the informant's conviction that the appellant, Laxrnan Singh and Birendra Singh together killed the girl and fled away concealing her body inside the room.

(3.) Having thus recorded his own statement, the informant (PW-2) himself took up investigation and prepared an inquest report (Ext.4) and a seizure list (Ext. 5).