- (1.) THIS criminal appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 9-6- 2000 and 12-6-2000 passed in Sessions Trial No. XXIX/July/1997 by learned Additional Sessions Judge, 5th Court, Midnapore thereby convicting Ashok Banerjee @ Bapi Bose of the charge under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing him to suffer R.I. for life and also to pay a fine of Rs. 3,000/- in default to suffer imprisonment for six months more.
(2.) THE factual background in a nutshell is that, on 20-1-1997 around 11 a.m. appellant being accompanied by a lady arrived at a lodge named Ma Janhabi Bhawan Hotel at Digha. He wanted an accommodation there for two days disclosing themselves as husband and wife. THE owner of the hotel , FIR maker Balai Das /P.W.1 accordingly allotted room No. 5 to them at a charge of Rs. 120/- per day. THEy caused recording of their names and addresses in the hotel register as Bapi Bose and Rani Bose of Birati. THEy stayed in the said hotel in room No. 5 for two days. On 22-1-1997 around 7.30 a.m. Bapi Bose was found leaving the hotel with a bag in his hand in a suspicious manner. Balai Das asked him about his wife /Rani to which he in an unprepared manner stated that she was lying in her bed in room No. 5 in drunken condition. He was then asked as to why he was leaving the hotel alone keeping his wife in such a condition to which he finding no alternative confessed before the FIR maker /Balai Das and others who were present there that at the previous night of 22-1-1997 he administered poison to his wife Rani mixing the same with liquor. He stated before them also that he gave electric shock to his wife and has murdered her. He thereafter disclosed that his actual name is Ashok Banerjee , son of Amiya Kumar Banerjee of Ananda Park, P.S. Birati, 24-Parganas (North) and his wifes actual name is Soma Banerjee, daughter of Sukhjiban Banerjee of Mahajyoti Indira Nagar , P.S. Airport, 24-Pargranas (North ). He has further disclosed that they got married before 5 years and their such marriage was registered under the Registration Act but owing to some family reasons no social marriage ceremony could be performed . He killed his wife due to various reasons including strong suspicion about her character. Appellant, immediately thereafter took the de facto complainant to room No. 5 of the hotel, opened the padlock of the door and showed his wife lying in bed in unconscious condition. Soma @ Rani was shifted to hospital by the FIR maker and others with the help of the appellant where she was declared dead. In the aforesaid premises Balai Das reported the matter to the local police station and in pursuance of such report /FIR , Digha police station case No. 1 of 97 dated 22-1-1997 under Section 302 against appellant Ashok Banerjee @ Bapi Bose was registered. In course of trial 14 witnesses were produced and examined from the side of the prosecution. During trial FIR, inquest report of the dead body of Soma Chatterjee, seizure list, report of doctors, post mortem report of the deceased. Seizure list , sketch map , marriage certificate of appellant and victim, copy of FSL report and copies of photographs of deceased have been marked as Exhibits. Beside it, forwarding report of Investigating Officer and G.D.entry No. 488 dated 22-1- 1997 have been marked as Exhibits too from the side of the defence. The case of the defence as it transpires from the trend of cross-examination of P.Ws and statement of the accused comes out during his examination under Section 313 of Cr. P.C. was of complete innocence and false implications.
(3.) MR. Moahn Kumar Sanyal , learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant has emphatically contended that the constable has not identified the dead body before the doctor who conducted post mortem examination. There is no evidence regarding such identification at the instance of constable. He has contended too that the carbon copy of the post mortem report of the deceased cannot be taken into considerations in view of the provisions laid down in Section 60 of the Evidence Act. The FSL report on which prosecution has banked upon was collected after filing of the charge sheet and the same cannot be taken into consideration for proper adjudication of the case. It has been manufactured in order to fill in the lacunae of the prosecution case. He has vehemently urged further that opinion of the two doctors are contradictory to each other and as such there is no conclusive proof regarding the death of Soma Chatterjee . Mr. Souvik Mitter, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the opposite State has refuted the contentions of Mr. Sanyal and has contended that constable Kedar Nath Gorai identified the dead body before the Autopsy Surgeon and the Autopsy Surgeon stated so in has evidence. The appellant and the victim gave their false name in the register of the hotel. They were together in room No. 5 till the date of incident i.e. 22-1-1997. They were seen together in the said hotel till the offence is committed.;