BYAS, J. - (1.)By his judgment dated Mar. 7, 1979 the learned Sessions Judge, Churu convicted the accused Inder Das under Ss.302 and 201, I.P.C. and sentenced him to imprisonment for life on the first and three years rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 200/-, in default of the payment of fine to further undergo three months like imprisonment on the second count. Substantive sentences were directed to run concurrently. The accused has come up in appeal to challenge his conviction and sentence.
(2.)The charges against the accused are that of patricide and disposing of his corpse.
(3.)Briefly stated, the prosecution case is that the deceased-victim Ratan Das was the father of the appellant. Ratan Das had three sons viz. Prem Das, Chain Das and the appellant. They were living together in village Badsar tehsil Sujangarh district Churu. Ratan Das owned considerable agricultural land which stood in the name of Prem Das and the appellant. In 1977, Ratan Das got the agricultural land entered solely in the name of Prem Das, in the revenue records. That sowed the seeds of discordance between the appellant and his father Ratan Das. Ratan Das left his house on Sunday preceding Aug. 11, 1978 to go to Sujangarh to see his ailing maternal-uncle. When he did not return even after three days, his wife Smt, Chhoti (PW 2) and his father Ramdas (PW 1) sent the appellant to find out the whereabouts of Ratandas. The appellant also did not return for three days. Thereafter PW 1 Ramdas left the house and boarded a bus to go in search of Ratandas and the appellant. The appellant met him in the way and told him that his father Ratandas had gone in a truck. The appellant and Ramdas returned together to their Dhani. Since Ratandas was still missing and not traceable, many persons collected at the Dhani of Ratandas. They decided to go to take help from an occultist and then to go to the police station to lodge a report. The appellant was also present in that meeting. His mother Chhoti (PW 2) expressed her suspicion on him. Thereupon the appellant started weeping and told before all those persons who had assembled there that he had committed the murder of his father Ratandas and had buried his corpse in his field. PW 1 Ramdas thereupon went to Police Station, Sandwa and verbally lodged report Ex.P.1 stating all these facts therein. The police registered a case under Ss.302 and 201, I.P.C. against the accused and took up the investigation. The Station House Officer Pritamsingh (PW 15) arrived on the spot on Aug. 12, 1978 and arrested the accused at about 10.00 A.M. After his arrest, the accused gave the information, in consequence of which the dead body of the victim was disinterred from a pit nearly 4 feet deep in a hut standing on the appellant's field. The inquest report was prepared. The autopsy of the victim's dead body was conducted at about 2.30 p.m. on the same say by PW 9 Dr. Y.S. Bhargava, then Medical Officer Incharge, Primary Health Centre, Sandwa. He noticed the following injuries on the victim's dead body:-
1) Incised wound 5" X 0.75" X 0.5" transverse oblique downwards extending from near the upper end of right pinna over mastoid region of skull. 2) Incised wound 6" X 1.5" X 1.5" oblique downwards extending from angle of right mandible to 4th cercrical vertabrae Carotid artery cut open. 3) Incised wound 4" X 1.5" X 2" below the trachea exposing the oesophagus.