ROCKY BENEDICT Vs. STATE OF SIKKIM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal filed on behalf of the three appellants is directed against the judgment dated 25/11/2003 and order dated 28/11/2003 passed by S.W. Lepcha, Sessions Judge (E & N) Sikkim at Gangtok in Criminal Case No. 11 of 2002, convicting appellants 1 and 2 under Sections 302/34 IPC and sentencing each of them to undergo imprisonment for life and to a fine of Rs. 5,000.00 with a defaulting clause of sentence. Both the appellants along with appellant No. 3 have further been convicted under Sections 201/34 IPC and each of them has been sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for six months with a fine of Rs. 4,000.00 with a defaulting clause of sentence.

(2.) The prosecution case briefly stated is as follows: Appellant No. 1 is the husband of appellant No. 2. Appellant No. 3 is the brother of appellant No. 2. Both appellants 1 and 2 are the residents of Diesel Power House Area, Gangtok and were running a private school for children. Their neighbours are Mina Pradhan (PW 1) and her husband Kumar Pradhan (PW 7). About six to seven months before the incident, appellants 1 and 2 expressed their desire to Mina Pradhan (PW 1) that they were in need of a child who could play with their own child. On their request, Mina Pradhan (PW 1) brought Bina Pradhan, a girl aged about 8 to 9 years (hereinafter referred to as the deceased) from her village Kumrek and left her in the custody of the appellants. The deceased was accordingly staying with them. On 18-2-2002 at about 9.30 a.m. appellants 1 and 2 told Mina Pradhan (PW 1) that the deceased had expired due to diarrhoea and vomiting. She asked them to inform her husband PW 7 who was then in his office. On arrival of PW 7 it was decided that the parents of the deceased at Kumrek should be informed about the death. Accordingly appellants 1, 2 and PW 7 proceeded to Kumrek and informed about the death to Gokul Narayan Pradhan (PW 3) father of the deceased. Thereafter all of them came back to Gangtok where appellant No. 3 was found guarding the dead body which was wrapped in a quilt. The dead body was taken to Kumrek. When the co-villagers of PW 3 removed the quilt they noticed marks of injuries on the dead body. They suspected that the deceased died on account of assault sustained by her and not due to diarrhoea or vomiting. The dead body was handed over to the police at Rangpo Police Station. Initially a case of unnatural death was registered. The police sent the dead body of the deceased to STNM Hospital, Gangtok for post-mortem examination which revealed that the deceased died due to ante-mortem injuries and not due to diarrhoea or vomiting. The case was accordingly converted to one under Sections 302/201/34 IPC. After completion of investigation the appellants were placed on trial which ended in their conviction as indicated above. Appellant No. 2 (wife of appellant No. 1) was specifically charged under Section 302 IPC for having committed murder by intentionally causing the death of the deceased. She and her husband appellant No. 1 were also charged under Sections 302/34 IPC for having intentionally caused the death of the deceased in furtherance of their common intention. All the three appellants were charged under Sections 201/34 IPC on the allegation that in furtherance of their common intention they intentio-nally gave false information to the effect that the deceased died due to diarrhoea and vomiting, with a view to screen them-selves from legal punishment.

(3.) The appellants pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.