- (1.) Leave granted.
(2.) Challenge in this appeal is to the judgment of a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court dismissing the appeal filed by the appellant and upholding the conviction for offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code,1860 (in short the IPC') and sentence of imprisonment for life and fine of Rs.1,000/- with default stipulation.
(3.) Prosecution version as unfolded during trial is as follows: Jyotsna (hereinafter referred to as the deceased') was married to the appellant. They were blessed with a child. Satish Mallick, PW 8 was the father of the deceased and Kulu Mallick, PW 9 was the mother of the deceased. On the fateful day the deceased and the accused were sleeping together i.e. on 5.4.1999. At about 5 O' clock on 5.4.1999 Malati Mallick, the elder sister of the deceased reported to the complainant and told him that his elder sister was lying in a pool of blood. Thereafter he went to the bedroom of Jyotsna and found that she was lying dead on a pool of blood and there was a cut mark in the right side of her neck. At that time the accused was not present. Since the accused and the deceased were sleeping together after taking their food, the de-facto complainant concluded that the accused had killed his wife. Matter was reported at the police station. After investigation charge sheet was placed and the accused faced trial. In his cross examination under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short the Code') the accused took the plea of alibi. Since it was a case of circumstantial evidence the trial court referred to certain circumstances to find the accused guilty. The appellant preferred an appeal before the High Court which as noted above was dismissed.;