- (1.) G. P. Mathur, J. Sangam Lal has preferred this appeal against the judgment and order dated 31-1-1977 of IIIrd Additional Sessions Judge, Allahabad in S. T. No. A-1 of 1976 by which he was convicted under Section 302 I. P. C. and was sentenced for imprisonment for life. Ghanshyam accused who was tried alongwith the appellant in the same sessions trial was, however, given benefit of doubt and was acquitted.
(2.) BEFORE adverting to the merits of the case, it is necessary to place on record certain disturbing features of the present appeal. The appellant was convicted and sentenced on 31-1-1977 and soon thereafter he preferred the appeal and was granted bail. All the criminal appeals of the year 1977 have been heard and disposed of by this Court several years back but the present appeal was not listed for hearing at its turn. Trijugi Narain, brother of the deceased Smt. Manorama Devi filed an application for hearing of the appeal on which an, order was passed on 30-11-2000 for listing it alongwith the record of the appeal. It was thereafter that the office submitted a report that for a long time the record of the criminal appeal was not traceable in the High Court office. However on a further order being passed, the record of the trial Court was summoned. When the trial Court record was received, it was found to be partly burnt and some documents which had been marked as Exhibits in the trial Court were totally missing. Fortunately, the statement of the witnesses were intact. The appeal has been heard on the material as it stands today on the record. It is not necessary for us to guess as to who was to gain by the disappearance of the record of the appeal from the High Court office and also from the delay in the hearing of the appeal as the appellant is enjoying bail for over 24 years. The case of the prosecution, in brief, is that the deceased Smt. Manorama Devi was resident of village Madhoganjmohli. P. S. Kotwali, district Pratapgarh. She was married to the appellant Sangam Lal, resident of Ismailganj, P. S. Tharwai district Allahabad about 8 years before the occurrence. Sangam Lal suspected the fidelity of his wife that she had illicit connection with Hari Shankar Jaiswal of Madhoganjmohli. He used to ill-treat her and used to beat her occasionally. She had sent some letters to her parents complaining about the false accusations made by her husband and also about the beating given to her. The appellant had a flour mill in the front portion of his house. Inside the house there is a room and then there are two rooms on the first floor. Co-accused Ghanshyam, who has been acquitted by the trail Court, had been employed by the appellant Sangam Lal for the purpose of running the flour mill and he was working as a servant. The incident took place in the midnight of 24/25-10-1975. A few incidents of theft and dacoity had occurred in the village in the past few months and as a precautionary measure, the villagers had formed some guard-parties which used to do patrolling in the night from around 10. 00 p. m. P. W. 4 Girja Shankar had gone to the flour mill at about 12. 00 in the afternoon of 24- 10-1975 for the purpose of grinding his wheat. On the said day, it was his turn to do patrolling alongwith others. While he was at the flour mill, the appellant told him that he should be vigilant and alert as the miscreants may make an attempt in the night. At about 12. 00 in the night, the appellant Sangam Lal raised an alarm that some miscreants had entered his house. P. W. 4 Girja Shankar and members of the guard-party then rushed towards his house and an alarm was raised in the whole village which attracted many other people. P. W. 1 Ram Chandra, who was the Sarpanch and P. W. 3 Sangam Lal (another person having the same name as the appellant), who was the Pradhan of the Gaon Sabha also reached there. The appellant Sangam Lal told all those persons who had collected there that the miscreants were inside his house and they had committed the murder of his wife. Ghanshyam, co-accused was also standing outside alongwith the appellant. The house was completely dark and the persons collected there asked Sangam Lal to switch on the lights which was done. A number of persons went inside the house but there was no trace of any miscreant. Smt. Manorama Devi was found lying dead in a cot of the inner room of the house and a considerable amount of blood was found on the clothes, quilt and below the cot. Sangam Lal then scribed the FIR of the occurrence in his house and went to P. S. Tharwai, where it was lodged at 1. 00 a. m. on 25-10-1975. P. W. 6 Rachpal Singh, S. O. of P. S. Tharwai then came to the village Ismailganj alongwith other police personnel at 2. 30 a. m. He held inquest on the body of the deceased and prepared other documents like challan lash, photo lash and the letter to the C. M. O. for post-mortem examination. The body was sealed and was handed over to constable Ram Swaroop Pandey for taking to the district head quarters for the purpose of post-mortem examination. He also prepared a site plan. He took in his possession blood stained pillow, quilt, bed-sheet and also blood stained earth from the spot. Sometime, thereafter he recovered a brief case from a Khandahar (dilapidated building) adjoining to the house which contained some clothes of the deceased. He recovered a letter from inside the dressing-table which was kept in the room where the body was found and prepared its seizure memo. The Investigating Officer continued to interrogate the appellant Sangam Lal. At about 9. 00 a. m. , the appellant volunteered that he can show the place where he had kept a gandasa and some other objects. P. W. 6 Rachpal Singh and some others then followed him to the first floor of the house. A large quantity of leaves for manufacturing bidi had been kept in big bundles in one of the rooms. The appellant took out a gandasa, a baniyan and an underwear which were all blood stained and some crackers from underneath the bundles. These articles were sealed and their seizure memo was prepared. The appellant also led the party to the door of the stairs of the first floor and from a spacing above the door-frame (chaukhat of the door) he took out some ornaments like, golden ear rings and a silver-payal. These articles were also sealed and their seizure memo was prepared. Subsequently, Ghanshyam accused said that he could show the place where he had concealed some utensils. The Investigating Officer and other witnesses then followed him to the first floor. He led the party to a place where timber and leaves of bidi had been stored and took out some utensils like, thalis, lotas, kadhai and gangal etc. which had been concealed there. The articles were sealed and their seizure memo was prepared. P. W. 7 Rachpal Singh recorded the statement of other witnesses and also went to the maternal home of the deceased in village Madhoganjmaholi district Pratapgarh and recorded the statement of her brother, P. W. 5 Hira Lal and some others. Thereafter, he submitted charge-sheet against Sangam Lal and Ghanshyam accused. The post-mortem examination on the body of the deceased was conducted by P. W. 2 Dr. S. N. Pandey at 4. 00 p. m. on 25-10-1975 and he found the following ante-mortem injuries on the same: "ante-mortem injuries (1) Incised wound 3 1/2" x 1" x vertebrae deep on the right middle of neck on the lateral and posterior aspect cutting the neck vessels of right side through and through including common carotid artery. (2) Incised wound 1" x 1/2" x bone deep on the chin. (3) Incised wound 1" x 1/2" x bone deep on the right angle mandible. (4) Incised wound 1/2" x 1/10" x skin deep on the back and part of left forearm, 1" below the alscranon process. (5) Abrasion 1/10" x 1/10" on the 1/2" below injury No. 4. (6) Incised wound 1/2" x 1/10" x skin deep on the medial side of left elbow. (7) Abrasion 1/10" x 1/10" on the back and middle of right forearm. "
(3.) ON the basis of the charge-sheet submitted by the police, the Chief Judicial Magistrate took cognizance of the offence and committed the case to the Court of Sessions on 20-12-1975. The learned IIIrd Additional Sessions Judge, framed charge under Section 302 read with Section 34 I. P. C. against both the accused namely, Sangam Lal and Ghanshyam by the order dated 29-5-1976. The charges were read over and explained to the accused who pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried. In order to establish its case, the prosecution examined 7 witnesses and filed some documentary evidence.;