EMPEROR Vs. GANESH CHANDRA GOLDAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a Reference by the learned Sessions Judge of Faridpur in a case in which Ganesh Chandra Goldar was charged with murder and with conspiracy. There is no doubt that the deceased man, Kali Kumar Mozumdar, was murdered on his way home about the middle of the night after having attended an arbitration, and the case for the prosecution was that the accused person and others attacked him as he was passing a clump of trees and injured him severely. Although he was able to drag himself to the nearest house, which belonged to a man namea Kailash Chandra Sarkar, he died very shortly afterwards without being able to give any indication as to the persons who had attacked him.

(2.) The case against the accused depends almost entirely upon certain confessions which the accused is alleged to have made. Certain of the neighbours assembled at the house of Kailash in answer to a summons from Kailash, including the two panchayats, Amrit Lal Basu, who was the collecting panchayat, and Mahodeo Biswas, who was the assistant panchayat, and a man called Dinabandhu Sarkar, who described himself as a cultivator, bat who seems to be one of the men who took a lead in what, took place subsequently and he described himself as a "Thakur". It was after these people had assembled that the accused person, who was known to have been animated by feelings of enmity against Kali Kumar Mozumdar, was summoned to the house. This was in the early morning after the night when the attack upon Kali Kumar Mozumdar was made, and the evidence is that he was brought into the presence of .he corpse, that he was trembling and pale and could hardly speak or stand up. When asked to say what he knew about it, after some little time he is Supposed to have said that he could not say anything. Eventually he asked to be taken aside and said that then he would state what he knew. Thereupon he was taken co another part of the compound, and in the presence of Banamali Biswas? Manikya Bala Dinabandhu Thakur, Mohendra Nath Biswas, Mahadeo Biswas, Amrita Lal Basu and perhaps one or two others he is alleged to have made a confession that he was concerned in the murder of the deceased man with others whose names he mentioned. This confession is spoken to by the witnesses to whose evidence the learned Judge has referred. The accused was detained by the villagers. The Sub-Inspector arrived on the next day and committed him to custody. On the following day he was taken before a Magistrate who, after warning him and after satisfying himself that the statement he was about to make was to be made voluntarily, recorded his confession, which amounted to a statement that he had been concerned with others in the murder of this deceased man. At the trial that confession was withdrawn, and the accused person said taut, he had never made the statement which was spoken to by the panchayat, the assistant panchayat and Dinabandhu and others shortly after the murder.

(3.) The Jury were unanimous in their verdict of acquittal and they added that they were not satisfied that the confessions of the accused were true or that they had any evidence value. The learned Judge came to the conclusion that there was no doubt that these confessions were proved, and there was a certain amount of corroboration and that he was convinced that the accused was guilty and clearly ought to be convicted.