ASHOK KUMAR Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an Appeal against the judgment dated 22. 04. 1999 and sentence dated 26. 04. 1999 passed by Shri Raghubir Singh, Additional Sessions judge; Delhi in Sessions Case No. 210 of 1996 (hereinafter referred to in short as the 'trial Court' ). By the impugned judgment, the Appellant has been convicted under Sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred in short as the "ipc") and has been thus sentenced to undergo life imprisonment and also to pay a fine of Rs. 500/-, failing which, the Appellant is required to undergo a further rigorous imprisonment for a period of three (3) months. The Appellant, being aggrieved by the impugned judgment, has preferred the present Appeal under sec. 374 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (hereinafter referred to in short as "cr P C" ).

(2.) IN order to deal with the issues raised in the Appeal, it would be important to set out briefly the case of the prosecution in respect of the conviction of the Appellant in the matter. The prosecution's case is as follows:--

(3.) ON 25. 04. 1996, one Shri Kallan Khan, the father of the deceased child, Shabana, lodged a missing person's complaint with the Mangol Puri, police Station (in short the said Police Station) with respect to his child, shabana. A Daily Diary (DD) Entry No. 21a was made out at about 1. 45pm, wherein, based on Kallan Khan's statement it was recorded that his daughter, shabana, aged about seven (7) years, of medium built, wearing salwar suit with red and white print, was missing since 4. 00pm on 24. 04. 1996.