- (1.) The appellant herein, along with three other accused persons, was convicted under Sections 302, 34, 120B and 394 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) by the Trial Court and was sentenced to suffer imprisonment for life for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 34 and 120B IPC and for 10 years rigorous imprisonment and in default to suffer rigorous imprisonment for six months for the offence punishable under Section 394 IPC, for the murder of an elderly couple Girish Navalkha and Bina Navalkha at their Flat No. 10C, 10 th floor of Rameshwar Apartment at 19A Sarat Bose Road, Kolkata-20.
(2.) Brief facts involved in the instant appeal are as follows: - A case was registered under Section 302/34 IPC against some unknown miscreants on the basis of the statement of one Jugal Kishore Khetwat at Bhabanjpur Police Station on 25 th December, 1991. As per his statement, Mr. Khetwat was a family friend of the couple and used to visit their flat regularly in the morning and used to have his tea with them. It is further stated that on 24th December, 1991, at night both the husband and wife were to accompany him to a party at New Kelinworth Hotel, but due to indisposition of Girish Navalkha, the couple did not join him and he alone attended the party and returned to his flat at 10A, Rameshwar Apartment at dead hours of night.
(3.) It is stated by Mr. Khetwat that in the morning of 25 th December, 1991, as per his regular routine, when he came to the flat of Mr. Navalkha, he found the same locked and in spite of pushing the doorbell, no response came. Thereafter, when he found the servants of Navalkha family entering into the flat, he followed them and being attracted with the shouting of the servants and to his utter surprise, he found Bina Navalkha lying almost in naked condition on the bed with a sari tied around her neck by one end and the other end of the sari was tied with the rod of the ceiling fan. Mr.Khetwat also found Girish Navalkha lying dead on his chair in the study room with a shawl tied around his neck. Mr.Khetwat also noticed ransacking of the rooms of Navalkha family and, in his statement, he apprehended that the couple were killed, perhaps, for robbery.;