- (1.) WHEN the case was taken up, Mr. L.D.N. Shahdeo, who had earlier been appointed as Amicus Curiae, since did not appear, we appointed Mrs. Priya Shreshtha, learned counsel, as Amicus Curiae to assist this Court. This appeal is directed against the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 11.2.2004 and 13.2.2004 respectively passed by Additional Sessions Judge, F.T.C.I., Chaibasa in S.T. No. 203 of 2002, whereby and whereunder, the appellant on being found guilty for committing murder of Birsa Mundari and for assaulting Sukru Mundari, was convicted for the offences punishable under Sections 302 and 323 of Indian Penal Code and was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life for the offence punishable under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code and further to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months for the offence under Section 323 of Indian Penal Code.
(2.) THE case of the prosecution, as has been projected, is that the deceased -Birsa Mundari, husband of the informant -Sukru Mundari (P.W. 1) had two brothers Late Rout Mundari and Fuddu Munda. After partition of the property, all brothers were living separately. The appellant is the son of Late Raut Mundari. After the death of Raut Mundari, his widow having married another person, had left home. Therefore, this appellant some time used to take his meal in the house of the informant (P.W.1) and sometime in the house of his uncle -Fuddu Munda. In the night of 26.1.2002, this appellant took his meal in the house of the deceased -Birsa Mundari and slept over a cot, whereas in the same room, the deceased - Birsa Mundari and his wife -Sukhi Mundari - informant slept over a mat on the floor of the room. At about 9 O'clock when the informant -PW. 1 woke up, she found the appellant restless. Having found the appellant restless, the informant asked him to go and sleep. Upon it, he went outside of the room and after a while he came with some weapon in his hands and started assaulting the informant, as a result of which, she received injury over her back, head and right hand. Thereupon, she tried to wake up her husband by shaking his body, but he did respond. Meanwhile, the appellant fled away from there. The informant also came rushing to her another house where her two daughters were sleeping and informed them all about it. When the informant came back, she found her husband dead.
(3.) JUST after two hours of the occurrence, when Anil Kumar Sharma, S.I., Officer In -charge of Bandgaon Police Station came to the village, he recorded the fardbeyan [Ext. 3] of the informant -Sukru Mundari (P.W.1) at 11 O'clock, upon which a case was registered and a formal FIR (Ext. 4) was drawn against the appellant. He himself took up the investigation during which he seized the blood, which was there over the mat in presence of P.Ws. 3 and 4 under seizure a list (Ext. 1). Thereupon he held inquest on the dead -body of the deceased -Birsa Mundari and prepared an inquest report and sent the dead -body for postmortem examination which was conducted by Dr. Umendra Prasad -P.W. 6 who upon holding autopsy on the dead -body of the deceased found the following injuries: - - "Eye closed Blood on nose and right angle of the mouth. Blood in both ears. Fracture of right occipital bone, with lacerated wound 2 1/2" x 1/2" x brain matter. Fracture of right temporal bone with lacerated wound 1" x 1/2". Incised wound: over right cheek 2" x 3/4 " x 1/2". Sharp cutting injuries on left shoulder 3" x 1/2 x 1/4"." The doctor issued postmortem examination report (Ext. 2) with an opinion that the death was caused on account of hemorrhage and shock due to head injuries, which was sufficient to cause death by sharp and hard weapon like that of 'Kudali'.;