AKBAR SHAH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AKBAR Shah has been convicted by the learned Sessions Judge Srinagar under Section 302 RPC by his order dated 17-7-64 and sentenced to life imprisonment for having caused the death of a girl by name Sonam Chomu on 15-5-62 at Bahak Nala Kundat Tehsil Kargil. Against his conviction and sentence Akbar Shah has come up in appeal to this Court. The State has come up in revision against the order of the learned Sessions Judge with the prayer that the life imprisonment inflicted upon the accused-appellant be converted into death sentence. The record has been submitted by the learned Sessions Judge under Section 374 of the Criminal P. C. for confirmation of the sentence.

(2.) ON presentation of the revision by the State a notice was served on the accused-appellant. This order will dispose of the appeal of Akbar Shah, the revision preferred by the State as well as the proceedings for confirmation of the sentence of life imprisonment passed by the learned Sessions Judge.

(3.) THE facts of this case are very simple. The prosecution story is that on 14th May 62 the accused Akbar Shah resided in the house of Cherring Stobdan, father of the deceased girl Sonam, at Bahak Nala Kundat Tehsil Kargil. In the morning after breakfast the accused left the house of Chering Stobdan. Stobdan also left his house with the sheep to graze them and left behind his daughter Sonam to graze the cow. At about noon while Sonam was grazing her cow along with two other girls Bhutty and Dolma the accused Akbar Shah came and asked Sonam to accompany him to her house where he had forgotten a bag of fried floor (Suthoo ). The accused had a knife in hand. Sonam refused to go with him. The accused threatened her to death; brandishing his knife and then forcibly dragged her to the house of her father. The two girls Butty and Dolma took fright and ran away to their houses. Another lady Mst. Haira also saw the two girls fleeing and on coming to know from them what had happened, she also fled away. Hajira is an elderly lady and an employee of the father of Nawang Dolma. Cherring Stobdan came to his house in the ordinary course to have his meals, but when he entered his house he found the accused cutting into pieces the body of his daughter Sonatn. The accused had already chopped off her head, cut her legs and the abdomen and the middle portion of her body. When the accused saw Cherring coming in, he got up with his knife in hand and ran after Cherring. The accused was pursuing Cherring when Nawang Ragbis witness arrived. The accused then took to his heels. The matter was reported to Mohd. Ali Numberdar, Nawang Gyasto brother of the deceased was also informed of the occurrence. He was working as a coolie in the Military and on coming to know about this occurrence he lodged an FIR Ex. PA with the police station at Kargil on 17-5-62. The police reached the spot on 19th May and started investigation. The pieces of the dead body of the deceased were recovered from the house of Cherring Stobdan in the same condition as they were left behind by the accused on 15-5-62. They were seized by All Mohd. Head Constable by means of Ex. PE. Ali Mohd. further prepared a sheet containing the condition of the deceased known as Fard Surat Hal (Ex. PB) and the injury statement Ex. PK. The mattress on which some pieces of the body of the deceased were lying were also seized. It had blood stains on it. On 21st May the house of the accused was searched and a knife EXPL was recovered, as well as the garments worn by the accused at the time of the murder. (Ex. PG ). The different pieces of the body of the deceased were taken for post mortem examination. Dr. G. Mustafa Medical Officer Kargil performed the post mortem of the deceased on 21-5-62. He found the following injuries on her person: