KAMAL TOPPO Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By Court.:- Heard learned counsel for the appellant and learned counsel for the State.

(2.) The sole appellant is aggrieved by the impugned Judgment of conviction dated 13th of December, 2007 and Order of sentence dtd. 18/12/2007, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, F.T.C. No.-1, Gumla, in Sessions Trial No. 260 of 2006, whereby, the appellant Kamal Toppo, has been found guilty, and convicted for the offences under Ss. 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code. Upon hearing on the point of sentence, the appellant has been sentenced to undergo R.I. for life for the offence under Sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code. No sentence however, was passed for the offence under Sec. 201 of the Indian Penal Code.

(3.) The prosecution case was instituted on the basis of the written report, submitted by the informant Milkius Beck, the husband of the deceased Filomina Beck, before the Officer-Incharge of the Chainpur Police Station, in the District of Gumla, on 28/7/2006, wherein he has stated that on 27/7/2006, when he returned from Chainpur Market at about 7.30 P.M., he did not find his wife in the house. He asked his daughter Ankita Beck, aged about 14 years, about the whereabouts of her mother, whereupon, she informed him that at about 7.00 P.M., her maternal uncles Anil Tigga, Jinius Minz, Philip Ekka and Lilin Ekka had come to their house, and informed that they had some quarrel with the boys of the village, whereupon, her mother had gone to see them off out of the village. When the wife of the informant did not return back till night, the informant thought that she might have gone to her parents' place. On the next day, while he was plaughing his field, he was informed by his elder brother that the dead body of his wife was lying in the agricultural field of Benzamin Minz, whereupon, he went there and found the dead body with her saree tied in her neck, her face was crushed, which was defaced, and there were other injuries on the other parts of the body, by which, it appeared that she had been murdered by crushing her face by stone. The informant did not make any suspicion against anyone, stating that he had no enmity with anyone in the village. On the basis of the written report submitted by the informant, Chainpur P.S. Case No. 45 of 2006 corresponding to G.R. No. 661 of 2006, was instituted for the offences under Ss. 302, 201/34 of the Indian Penal Code, against unknown, and investigation was taken up. After investigation, the police submitted the charge-sheet in the case.