- (1.) Heard Mrs. Pashali Solanki alongwith Archna Hans, learned counsel for the appellant and Sri Sagir Ahmad, learned AGA for the State.
(2.) This appeal arises out of the conviction of the appellant by the learned Sessions Judge Chandauli vide judgment dated 19.02.2011 for the offence under Section 302 IPC in Case Crime No. 230 of 2009 that gave rise to the Session Trial No. 69 of 2009. The appellant has been convicted of the alleged murder of one Km. Preeti who is stated to be a teacher of the same school of which the appellant is the Manager. The appellant has been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life coupled with Rs. 10,000/- fine and in default of payment of fine to undergo further two years imprisonment. The judgment of the trial court concludes that apart from the oral and documentary evidence on record, the corroborating material as adduced by the prosecution has brought home the charges as a result whereof it is established that the appellant had committed the said offence and was therefore liable to be punished.
(3.) The case as set out in the FIR is that approximately at about 9:00 pm on 5th June 2009, the informant, Rajendra Sonker who has deposed as PW-1 along with one Dabloo Manjhi who has deposed as PW-2 were fishing on their boat in the river Ganges when a person was seen moving as a pedestrian along with his motor cycle side by side on the pontoon bridge from Varanasi towards Balua and a girl was also coming behind him. It was a moon lit night and there were some moving vehicles on the pontoon bridge which also threw light on the movement of the pedestrians and other traffic. When they witnessed the movement of the said motor cycle, they also saw that the accused-appellant was trying to start his motor cycle, and immediately thereafter there was some oral heated exchange between the appellant and the deceased. The said heated exchange is stated to have been audible enough where the oral exchanges indicated that there was some difference of opinion between the two expressing disgust at each other. The accused virtually threatened to finish her and assaulted her with a piece of iron. The FIR does not describe the nature of the instrument except for describing it as a piece of iron. After having assaulted her, the accused pushed the deceased into the river and immediately a hue and cry was raised by passersby as a result whereof the informant alongwith PW-2 arrived on the spot. They with the help of others tried to retrieve the body of the deceased who was recovered and was found dead.;