STATE OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR Vs. WALIA BUTT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Criminal Acquittal Appeal has been preferred against the judgment dated 29.07.2008 passed by the trial court, by which the respondent has been acquitted of offences under section 302 RPC read with sections 4/27 the Arms Act.

(2.) The prosecution story in nutshell is that on 25.07.2006, Police Station, Doda received information from the reliable sources that in the intervening night of 24/25 July, 2006 some unknown person has killed Mst. Zahida Banu D/o Walia Butt in the cattle shed of residential house of Wali Mohd. On the basis of the aforesaid information, First Information Report was registered as aforesaid. It is the case of the prosecution that during the course of investigation the respondent made extra judicial confession that he had killed his daughter with a sharp edged weapon (Churi) on 24.07.2006 at about 10.30 p.m. in the cattle shed of his residential house and leaving the dead body there. Thereafter, he left to his room and slept there and in the morning, i. e, on 25.07.2006 at 10 a.m. he himself disclosed the incident to the police personnel that he has killed his daughter by sliting her throat and the dead body is lying in the Cattle shed. The Police after completion of the investigation filed the charge sheet against the respondent.

(3.) The prosecution in order to prove its case examined as many as 16 witnesses, out of which 7 witnesses, namely, PWs 1 to 3 and PWs 4 to 9 have been cited as eye witnesses. PW 1, Nimatullah, who was cited as eye witness was declared hostile and nothing incriminating against the respondent could be elicited even from his cross-examination. Similarly, PW-2 Rehmatullah, who was also cited as eye witness, was also declared hostile and nothing incriminating against the respondent could be elicited from his cross-examination. PW 3-Dr. Zia Shokat Mugal and PW 4 Dr. Om Kumar have conducted autopsy and post mortem respectively. PW 6 Farooq Ahmad who was witness of seizure nemo, was also declared hostile by the prosecution. PW 7-Swami Raj in his evidence has deposed that when he heard that accused has killed his daughter by sliting her neck, he reached the spot. PW-8 Rattan Singh, who was incharge of the Police Station has stated that he has no knowledge about the incident. PW-9 Dr. Anaitullah had conducted the post mortem of the deceased along with Dr. Om Kumar. PW-10 Shadi Lal Manhas and PW-11 Ghulam Mohd have also been declared hostile by the prosecution. The statements of the PW 12-Partap Singh, PW-13 Imtiyaz Hussain Malik and PW-14-Abdul Rashid ASI have not material bearing on the controversy involved in this case.