PRABHU DAYAL Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Additional Session Judge No.5, Jaipur City Jaipur has convicted the appellant by his judgment dated 25th April, 1988 for the offence under Sections 302 and 364 Penal Code and sentenced him as under : <FRM>JUDGEMENT_84_LAWS(RAJ)2_19911.html</FRM> Against this conviction and sentence the appellant has preferred this appeal.

(2.) Suresh Kumar, aged 10 years was student of standard IV in Jan.1987. He had two sisters who were also school going. His father PW.1 Keshav Das carried on the business of manufacturing card-board boxes used for packing sweets and he had a small shop in Maniharo ka Rasta, in Jaipur. The family lived at the relevant time in Brahampuri, Jaipur. They had a small house of three rooms. They lived in one room. Another room was used for making boxes and the third one was with the tenant. For purposes of making card-board boxes keshav Das had engaged three persons, out of whom one was the appellant.

(3.) On 29th Jan.,1987 PW.1 Keshav Das left for Sikar in order to procure orders for the card-board-boxes. His wife PW.3 Maya devi left for the shop in Maniharo Ka Rasta at about 2.00 P.M. She had locked the room in which they used to live and had left Suresh playing on the terrace, where the appellant and two other labourers were also sitting, PW.9 Rajkumari is the elder daughter of Keshav Das and she returned home from school along with her younger sister at about 4.15 p.m. on 29.1.1987 the fateful day and saw that some papers were burning in the gutter. Suresh was not there. One servant Jagdish was sleeping and after a while appellant Prabhudayal came there and she questioned him about the burning papers and also about Suresh and the appellant showed ignorance about both. After some time PW.1 Keshav Das returned from Sikar and his wife PW.3 Maya Devi also returned from the shop and it was obvious that Suresh was not with any of them and was missing. They made a search for him and visited the house of some of the relatives, but he could not be found. Prabhudayal was also questioned but he only said that Suresh would come and he stated that where ever Suresh has gone he would come back on his own.