PUNIYA Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant criminal appeal under Sec. 374(2) of Cr.P.C. has been preferred by the accused-appellants Puniya @ Poona and Daranga being aggrieved by the judgment dtd. 3/10/2015 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Pratapgarh in Sessions Case No. 78/2012, whereby they have been convicted and sentenced as under:-

(2.) The substantive sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

(3.) Brief facts giving rise to the present appeal are that on 3/6/2012 at about 2:30 PM, Shailendra Singh (PW-8), SHO Police Station, Dhariyawad, District Pratapgrah received an information from Village Rati Kankar to the effect that a person had died by drowning and the dead body was lying in the well, upon which, he, along with other police personnel proceeded to the agricultural field and the well of the deceased Shanti Lal situated at village Rati Kankar, where, people present at spot told him that the dead body of Shanti Lal was lying in the well. He tried to get the dead body out of the well, but could not succeed on that day. On the next morning, the dead body was taken out of the well, which was identified to be that of Shanti Lal by Smt. Gangali (PW-1) and Onkar (PW-5), who are the wife and the brother of the deceased respectively. Thereafter, it was noticed that a plastic bag containing a heavy stone was tied to the body of the deceased with the help of a dhoti. On the same day i.e. on 4/6/2012, Smt. Gangali (PW-1) submitted a written report (Ex. P/1) to the SHO, Dhariyawad (PW-8) which was registered as FIR No. 113/2012 (Ex. P/12) for the offences under Ss. 302/34 and 201 IPC at Police Station, Dhariyawad, District Pratapgarh. It was alleged by her in the written report that her father-in-law had two wives. Shri Onkar (PW-5) and her husband Shanti Lal (deceased) were born from the first wife and the accused Daranga and Puniya were born from the second wife. There was a dispute between them over the partition of a Talai land. On 2/6/2012 at about 7:00 PM accused-appellant Daranga and Puniya had assaulted her husband Shanti Lal. Thereafter, the accused-appellants brought the deceased Shanti Lal to her house and were beating him incessantly. She and Shanti Lal requested them that he may be left alone but the assailants took away Shanti Lal forcibly, stating that they were taking him to Talai and they will have a discussion with him there. She followed them to their house at Talai and saw that her husband was lying on a cot and was asking for water. She requested accused-appellant Puniya to release her husband, but she was threatened and was sent back to her home. She remained at her house during the whole night, but her husband did not return. In the next morning, she sent her daughter Meera (PW-6) to look for her husband, but the accused-appellant Puniya sent her back saying that her father had already left in the night. Thereafter, she searched for her husband but could not find him. She alleged that Puniya had told Devilal that Shanti Lal had fallen in the well. On 3/6/2012, her husband Shanti Lal's body was found in the well, having injuries on his forehead and a plastic bag having a heavy stone was tied with his chest with the help of dhoti. It was also alleged that the accused-appellants had assaulted her husband and after killing him, they had thrown his dead body into the well after tying a heavy stone in a plastic bag. She further alleged that her father-in-law Partha, mother-in-law Smt. Nauchaki and Smt. Hummati w/o Puniya were also present at the house at Talai but did not save her husband deceased Shanti Lal.