EMPEROR Vs. ABDUL AZIZ

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by one Abdul Aziz, aged 57, resident of Mohalla Malaka, in the town of Allahabad who has been convicted and sentenced to death by the learned Sessions Judge of Allahabad, for murdering a little girl named Lattho, aged 9, the daughter of a neighbour of the appellant.

(2.) On the 22nd of February, 1923, Lattho, daughter of Abdul Samad, left her father's house in Malaka to play about. She was never seen alive, and the next time when her father saw anything of the little girl was her trunk without the legs, arms and head in a bundle near the railway line which passes through Malaka.

(3.) At 4 p.m. on the 24 Abdul Samad's wife wanted the little girl Lattho, and two boys Hamid Hussain and Mohammad Ayub were sent out to search for Lattho. These boys were aged 13 and 11 respectively and came back to the house and informed Abdul Samad that the girl could not be found. Abdul Samad and his relations searched for the girl and not finding her till 9 o clock made a report to the Police about the disappearance of the girl. This report is Ex. G. In that report is to be found a description of the girl and the clothes she was wearing, and it was also said that she wore a pair of slippers, and all the ornaments that she wore were given in detail in that report. Next morning search was continued, and when the father was going along the railway line he noticed a bundle which on opening was found to contain the trunk of the girl. A report was made at the Police Station, and Sub-Inspector Suraj Narain Singh came to the scene to investigate into the crime. One Wilayat Hussain, a resident of Malaka, informed the Sub-Inspector that his servant Sultan had told him that a man wearing white trousers had thrown something into a well which was a few hundred yards from the residential quarters in Malaka, Sub-Inspector Suraj Narain Singh has stated that he sent for divers and in the presence of witnesses the well was searched and out of it two legs in trousers tied to a brick were taken out of the well. We have it from Sub-Inspector Suraj Narain Singh, and we have no reason whatsoever to any way suspect or criticize the action of Suraj Narain Singh, that some residents of Malaka suggested that he should examine the dahliz and the courtyard of those people and the other residents of Malaka to see whether there were any blood stains to indicate that the girl had been murdered in the house of any one of them. He looked into the courtyard and dahliz of about 12 houses and the third or the fourth house which he looked into was the house of the appellant Abdul Aziz, but not finding anything he proceeded to make other inquiries. Later on he received certain information. The information was that the cries of the little girl Lattho had been heard about 4 o clock in the house of Abdul Aziz. The result of this information was that at about 4 p.m., he proceeded to search the house of Abdul Aziz. He found on a wire rope in the courtyard a qamarband, paijama and handkerchief which appeared to him to be blood stained and had been washed and he took possession thereof. The Sub-Inspector tells us that although he had a lamp he could not complete the search of the rooms of the house, because they were dark. He, therefore, postponed further search till the next day and kept the house under observation that nothing was removed therefrom. Sultan the servant of Wilayat Hussain was not examined till the afternoon. Abdul Aziz had either been arrested or was arrested after the statement of Sultan, it is immaterial for the purposes of this case. Whether Sultan's statement made to the Police is true or not, but Sultan stated that Abdul Aziz was the man who had thrown a bundle into the well from which the legs had been taken out. Although Wilayat Husain stated that he had told the Sub-Inspector that Abdul Aziz was the person who had thrown the bundle, we, however, have no hesitation in believing the statement of Suraj Narain Singh that all that he had been told in the morning was that a man wearing white trousers had thrown a bundle into the well.