EMPEROR Vs. MOMINUDDI SARDAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Reference relates to the case of one Mominuddi, Sardar who has been tried on a charge of having murdered his brother Amiruddi. The jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty, and the Judge, agreeing with the verdict, convicted the accused under Section 302, I.P. C, and sentenced him to death. The matter has now come to this Court on a reference for confirmation of the death sentence and also by way of appeal. The facts according to the prosecution are briefly as follows: On the afternoon of 2 April, 1934, Aminuddi, the murdered man, went to the house of one Meher Sardar of Kukrail to listen to some singing. He was accompanied by Sahar Ali Sardar and Sahar Ali's brother Belatali Sardar. Accused Mominuddi Sardar joined the party later in the afternoon. While the singing was going on, a quarrel arose between Mominuddi and Aminuddi over a sum of money which was said to be owing by Aminuddi to Mominuddi. As a result of the quarrel Mominuddi left the place in an angry mood, but returned at nightfall and suggested to his brother Aminuddi that they should go home.

(2.) According to the case for the prosecution and the confession of the accused himself, Mominuddi had, during the interval that elapsed between his departure from Meher's house after his quarrel with Aminuddi and his return, obtained a dao from the house of one Samir Sardar and had concealed it in a drain pipe by the side of the road leading from Meher's house to his own house. When the moon rose, that is to say, at 7 or 8 p.m., Aminuddi, Mominuddi, Sahar Ali Sardar, Belatali Sardar and one Ramjan, who is the uncle of Sahar Ali and Belatali, left Meher's house together. After they had gone a distance of some 7 or 8 rasis, that is to say about 300 yards, Mominuddi sat down on the road beside the drain pipe in which he had concealed the dao ostensibly for the purpose of relieving himself. The other four went on, Ramjan being in front, Aminuddi coming next, and Sahar Ali and Belatali last. Presently, Mominuddi ran up from behind and gave Aminuddi a cut on the neck with his dao. Aminuddi at once fell to the ground, and his companions ran away. They re-assembled at Meher's house almost immediately after; and there they informed Belatali and Sahar Ali's father Nabu, (who it may be added, is the brother of the third eye-witness Ramjan) of what had occurred. They also informed two persons named Jonab and Omar Ali who were with their father, as well as two other persons known as Bajtulla and Dildar. All these persons, except the last named, have been examined as witnesses. The party at Meher's house then broke up and the alleged eye-witnesses, as well as the persons whom they had informed of the occurrence, went away to their respective homes without saying anything further to anybody about what had happened, and without taking any steps to have information given to the deceased's relatives or to the police.

(3.) Later in the evening however a Hindu gentleman named Hemendra Nath Ghose, who lives with his uncle Lalit Mohan Ghose, in a house just beside the place of occurrence, was informed by passers by that a man had been killed; and on going outside he found a man lying dead on the roadside, with cuts on the neck and shoulders. He informed his uncle, Lalit, and the latter too went and saw the dead body, and immediately sent his driver Sachindra Nath Ray Chaudhury to the thana to lodge information. The place of occurrence was only about a mile distant from the thana, and an information to the effect that a man was lying dead by the side of the road was lodged by Sachin at the thana at about 11 p.m. The Sub-Inspector at once proceeded to the spot and took up the enquiry. After holding an inquest, he sent the dead body to the morgue for post mortem examination, and it may here be observed that the accused Mominuddi together with his mother were found by the Sub-Inspector at the place of occurrence and that Mominuddi was one of the persons sent to the morgue by the Sub- Inspector for the purpose of identifying Aminuddi before the doctor. A small pair of sandals were found by the Sub-Inspector beside the dead body and on enquiry he came to know that they belonged to Belat Ali Sardar, who it appears is a small boy of about 13 or 14. Belat Ali, on being questioned, made a statement to the Sub-Inspector as a result of which the Sub- Inspector sent word to the thana to have Mominuddi arrested.