SAMUEL AIND AND OTHER Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant was put on trial for committing murder of Saniaro Mundain taking her to be the Daain. The trial court having found the appellant guilty for both the charges convicted the appellant for the offences punishable under Sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code and also under Sec. 3/4 of Witch (Daain) Practices Act, 1999 vide judgment dated 26.06.2006 and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life for the offence under Sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code. However, no separate sentence was passed for the offence punishable under Sec. 3/4 of Witch (Daain) Practices Act, 1999.

(2.) The case of the prosecution as has been made out in the fardbeyan is that this appellant, who happened to be the cousin of the informant Sukhram Munda (P.W.6), was always identifying the deceased-Saniaro Mundain as witch at the instance of one Rao Singh Munda. On 19.10.2002, this appellant had also hurled abuses on the deceased by identifying her as witch. On 20.10.2002, at about 11.00 a.m. while the deceased by sitting under the Jackfruit tree was drying paddy the appellant came over there, made the deceased fall on the ground and then hammered down a nail in the chest of the deceased. Thereupon, the appellant after killing the deceased brought the deceased to his courtyard by dragging her. Further, it has been stated in the fardbeyan by the informant that the appellant was caught hold by his brother and father and was locked in a room. Meanwhile, villagers came but they did find that the appellant after breaking open the roof of the house had fled away.

(3.) It appears that when information of the incident was given to the police station, one S.I., P.V. Karketta, Officer-in-Charge of Karra Police Station came to the village and recorded the fardbeyan of the informant on 20.10.2002 at about 7.00 p.m., on the basis of which a case was registered against the appellant as well as against one Rao Singh Munda and a formal F.I.R. was drawn. After the inquest was held on the dead body, the dead body was sent for postmortem examination, which was conducted by Dr. Chandrawati Sinku (P.W.1) who upon holding autopsy on the dead body did find following injuries on the person of the deceased: