- (1.) SOLE appellant Tala Marandi stands convicted for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to serve rigorous imprisonment for life, by the 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, Godda Sessions Case No. 52 of 1994/22 of 1994.
(2.) BRIEF facts leading to this appeal are that in the morning of 18.1.1994, the appellant asked the informant, his wife (P.W. 1) to get the clothes washed at village pond situated in Mauza -Bansjori Bada Tolo, Police Station -Sunder Pahari, District - Godda. According to informant, she left her three months' old son, Jitan Marandi, with the appellant and went to wash the clothes. As further stated, when she returned in house after half an hour, she found the appellant causing injuries on infant, Jitan Marandi with a "Basula" in his hand. When she raised alarms, the appellant fled away leaving the said Basula" in the house. The informant found the child has already died because of injuries caused on his neck and head. Villagers were informed, who caught hold of the appellant. The matter was reported to Sundar Pahari Police, who arrived at the place of occurrence in the night after receiving information and recorded the statements of the wife of the appellant. The police further prepared the inquest report of the dead body, seized the weapon of assault and blood stained soils from the place of occurrence in presence of witnesses, RW. 2, PW. 3 and P.W. 4. The doctor on postmortem examination found two incised wounds on the neck of the infant and several fractures in the skull. The police finally submitted charge -sheet against the appellant under Section 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code including Dular Hansda as the co -accused. The trial of the petitioner alongwith Dular Hansda were committed to the Court of Sessions where charge was framed against them on 11.8.1994 to which they pleaded not guilty and claimed to be innocent. However, the learned trial court after examining the witnesses while acquitting co -accused Dular Hansda from the charge found and held the appellant guilty under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
(3.) THE present appeal has been preferred by the appellant in custody. Mr. Satish Kumar Keshri, has been appointed as Amicus curiae to assist this Court on behalf of the appellant. According to learned Amicus curiae, the prosecution story suffers from lack of any positive evidence and further supporting evidence that the appellant has caused death of deceased Jitan Marandi. Our attention was drawn towards the cross -examination of P.W. 1 where she admitted that she Amit Ambar Kachhap Versus Union Of India was not properly married with the appellant. It is suggested that when the appellant was out of place, the child was born out of illicit relationship and informant herself has caused death of the child. However, this suggestion appears to be farfetched. It was also stated that the learned trial court has not considered the contradictions in prosecution story. It was also asserted that there is no eye witness of the occurrence except the informant.;