- (1.) APPELLANT-Original Accused was tried in the Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Pune, in Sessions Case No.15 of 1993 for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. By the judgment and order dated 5th November, 1993, the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Pune convicted the accused for the offence punishable under section 302 of I. P. C. and sentenced him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 1000/ -. In default of payment of fine, the accused was directed to suffer rigorous imprisonment for six months.
(2.) AT the trial, the case of the prosecution was as under : The accused was residing alongwith his deceased wife Anusaya and children in a hut situated in the field of P. W. 2 Ananta. The accused and his wife used to go for doing labour work. On 25-2-92 they left their hut at about 9.00 a. m. alongwith their children and proceeded for doing labour work. AT about noon time, they returned to village Kambre. The accused and his deceased wife Anusaya then went for consuming liquor. Both of them consumed liquor at the shop of P. W. 7 Devram Gaikwad and returned to their hut at about evening time. The accused was annoyed as his wife Anusaya could not prepare food properly. He therefore, began to abuse and beat Anusaya. Children of the accused, P. W. 4 Nanda and Maruti, got frightened. They left the house and went to their grand-mother's house at village Kambre. They returned to the hut at about 7 a. m. in the morning and found their mother lying dead. They began to weep. On hearing this P. W. 4 Baliram Dhotre conveyed this fact to P. W. 2 Ananta. P. W. 2 Ananta proceeded to the hut. He found Anusaya lying dead. The accused was not in the hut. P. W. 2 Ananta Gaikwad therefore informed the incident to the police. Vadgaon Police Station registered an offence of murder vide the F. I. R. (Exh. 15 ). Investigation started on the basis of the F. I. R. Inquest panchanama was drawn and the body was sent for post-mortem. Panchanama of the scene of offence was drawn. Blood stained earth was collected from the scene of offence. The accused was arrested on 3-3-92. His clothes were seized under a panchanama. The clothes of the accused, earth and blood sample of the deceased and accused were sent for Chemical Analyser's report. After completion of the investigation, the accused came to be charged as aforesaid.
(3.) THE defence of accused was one of denial. He stated that the entire case is false. According to him, he was being prosecuted only on suspicion. He stated that he and his wife went to the field in the morning. THEn he went to guard jawar crop. He returned to his house at 8.00 p. m. He did not know what happened in his house. Since the entire case rests on circumstantial evidence, the prosecution sought to establish the chain of circumstances on the basis of evidence of ten witnesses. P. W. 1 Usha Balegar is the Medical officer attached to Primary Health Centre, Talegaon. She has deposed about the post-mortem conducted on the deceased. P. W. 5 Dattatray Gaikwad P. W. 7 Deoram Gaikwad and P. W. 8 Gopal Gaikwad have been examined to establish that the deceased and the accused were seen together in the evening of 25-2-92. P. W. 4 Nanda, the daughter of the deceased and the accused, is examined to prove motive and the fact that the accused and the deceased were together on the night of 25-2-92. P. W. 2 Ananta Gaikwad had lodged F. I. R. (Exh. 15 ). P. W. 3 Mahadu Gaikwad is a pancha, to the panchanama Exh. 17 under which, the clothes of the accused, articles 8 and 9 were taken charge of. P. W. 6 Baliram Dhotre has conveyed the information, that the children of the deceased were weeping in their house, to P. W. 2 Ananta. P. W. 7 Devram Gaikwad owns a liquor shop. He has stated that on 25-2-92 accused had been to his shop at 4.30 p. m. alongwith his wife to drink liquor. The particulars of investigation have been given by Kisan Gogve, A. S. I. Indapur Police Station and Vijay Patil, P. S. I. attached to Vadgaon Maval Police Station.;