AMODE ALI SIKDAR Vs. EMPEROR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this case the accused, Amode Ali Sikdar, was put upon his trial before the learned Sessions Judge of Bakarganj and was charged with an offence under Section 302 read with Section 109, I. P.C. The case against the accused was shorty this : In a village called Sankarpasha some four miles south of Pirojpur Police Station, there lived the family of one Hujjatali. With Hujja-tali lived, first of all, his son Sona Ali and his son's wife Sahera Khatun, also another son Tojambarali aged about 18, and his wife Fatema, and also Hujjatali's third wife Saju Bibi and a small girl of some three years of age named Samserannessa.

(2.) It seems that about half a mile from Hujjatali's house there was the house of Fatema's father and that Fatema had an elder sister called Meherannessa who had originally been married to one Kasemali, but had been divorced from him and had subsequently married the accused Amode Ali Sikdar. There is evidence that the marriage of Meherannessa to the accused brought about or was accompanied by certain ill feeling between Hujjatali and his household and Meherannessa's father and his household and that accordingly Hujjatali and his son Tojambarali had not been allowing Fatema to go to her father's house. The prosecution case is that on Friday, 1 August 1930 the accused with one Fatik went to the house of Hujjatali, that Fatik went to a tank to wash his feet so that the accused had an opportunity to talk with Fatema and that on that occasion he gave her certain white powder which she had to use as a charm. According to the prosecution case, this matter had been mentioned between these two persons before and Fatema was under the impression that if she gave this powder to her husband then that would cause her husband to love her and allow her to go to her father's house. There is some discrepancy in the evidence upon the question whether between the accused and Fatema there had been any mention of Fatema's giving this powder to anyone other than her husband, in particular, whether it was intended that she should give it to Hujjatali. The prosecution case is that on the next day Fatema was cooking the midday meal which consisted of rice, fried eggs and fried hot fish, that her father-in-law Hujjatali and her brother-in-law Sona Ali came to the house and wanted their food, that Fatema placed their food in a bowl, mixed the powder with it and?. served it to Hujjatali, to Sona Ali to her husband and also to the little girl. Samserannessa, that these people all took some food, that Saju Bibi and Sahera afterwards wanted their meal and that these two women were sitting down with Fatema to begin their meal when the four persons who had already partaken of the food began to complain that their throats were on fire and that their bodies were burning. It seems plain enough that these four people all began to suffer from extreme pain, that they began to vomit and that Hujjatali and Sona Ali were much worse than Tojambarali or the little girl Samserannessa. Very soon Hujjatali and Sona Ali died. Tojambarali and the little girl were very bad but did not succumb. A doctor came and afterwards another and a more highly qualified doctor called Paresh and after a little time quite a number of people came to the house including one Meher Ali Taluqdar who was a member of the Union Board. It seems that Fatema, to begin with, would not give any story; but her story was taken down by one Messer Ali Khan, a law student, the story being elicited by the doctor. The girl then said that on the previous day she-had got this powder from the accused. She then said that it was given to her for the purpose of making her husband love her and in order that she might get permission to go to her father's house. A similar story was told by the girl on 4 August before a Magistrate. The girl Fatema as well as the accused were brought up and charged and they both were committed to be tried at the Sessions.

(3.) At the trial at the Sessions Fatema having pleaded not guilty, a pardon was tendered to her and she was the chief prosecution witness. The medical evidence and the report of the Chemical Examiner leave no room for doubt that the powder which was given to these people at their meal on Saturday, 2 August, was aconite. Aconite was found in the intestines of Hujjatali and Sona Ali and the remains of the powder which were produced to the doctor on that day were also found to be aconite. In these circumstances, the accused was put on his trial and the jury by a majority of 6 against 3 found that the accused was guilty under Section 302 read with Section 109, I.P.C., and the learned Judge having sentenced him to death the ease comes before this Court both on appeal by the accused and also under Section 374, Criminal P.C.