BUDHIYA ALIAS BUDH SINGH Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a jail appeal preferred by Budhiya alias Budh Singh against the judgment of the Additional Sessions Judge, Sirohi, dated Aug. 27, 1973, by which he was convicted under sections 302,435 and 447 I. P. C. and sentenced to, undergo imprisonment for life on the first count, on the second to suffer rigorous imprisonment for one year and on the third to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three months. The sentences on all the counts were, however, ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) The prosecution, case against the appellant was that on Nov. 28, 1972 at about 4 p. m. he committed criminal trespass on the field of Ratansingh and, inflicted several blows in quick succession with an axe on his body while the latter was sleeping on a cot at his well and thereby caused his death and thereafter committed mischief by setting fire to the heap of straw lying in the field of the deceased. The incident was eye-witnessed by Mst. Nain Kanwar, P. W. 1 and Antar Kanwar, P. W. 2 who are daughters and wife of Ratan Singh's younger brother respectively and who were working at the well at the time of occurrence, The appellant after committing the crimes was seen running away by Dharam Singh, P. W. 4 and Veera, P. W. 8, who ran after him for some distance but came back to the place of occurrence when threatened by him with dire consequences. According to the prosecution, the motive on the part of the appellant to commit these crimes was that prior to the occurrence, the deceased suspected him to be a thief of his radio-transistor and asked him not to pass through his fields in future.

(3.) A report of this incident was lodged with the police at police station, Sumerpur, District Pali by Ram Singh, P. W. 3. On the basis of the report, the police registered a criminal case under section 302, I. P. C. and made the usual investigation into the matter. In the course of investigation, the appellant was arrested on Dec. 6, 1972. After his arrest, the appellant, while in the police custody, gave the Station House Officer, Sumerpur, an information which led to recoveries of broken pieces of a transistor, a blanket and 'Dhoti'. At the time of his arrest, the appellant was wearing one 'shirt' and 'Dhoti' and one scarf on his body. As the clothes were suspected to have stains of blood on them, they were taken off his body and seized by the police and sealed in the presence of Motbirs. An axe also was recovered from the possession of the appellant and seized by the police as it also had some stains of blood on it. The clothes of the deceased and the appellant were sent to the Chemical Examiner and to the Serologist for analysis. The Chemical Examiner found the clothes of the deceased i. e. Shirt, Dhoti and Banian positive for blood. The Serologist also reported that cuttings from Dhoti, shirt and towel of the appellant were stained with human blood. The scrapping from axe recovered from the possession of the appellant contained disintegrated blood-stains on them Stuli?. so their origin could not be determined. The post-mortem examination over the dead body of Ratan Singh was performed by Dr. Suga Chand Jain at village Pomava on Nov. 29, 1972. Upon examination, the Doctor found the following ante-mortem external injuries on me dead body :