- (1.)By filing this Appeal, the Appellant seeks to assail the Judgment and Order on Sentence of the Court of the Learned Sessions Judge, Special Division II, East Sikkim at Gangtok, dated 31-10-2015 in Sessions Trial Case No.04 of 2015, convicting the Appellant under Section 304 Part II of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short "IPC") and sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment of five years and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/- (Rupees five thousand) only, with a default stipulation.
(2.)The Prosecution version is that the Complainant (now deceased), on 06-02-2014 lodged a Complaint before the Officer-inCharge, Pakyong P.S., informing therein that on 04-02-2014 her husband, the Appellant herein, came home in an intoxicated state, assaulted her, burnt her original documents, verbally abused her mother and broke the door and window to her mother's house. That she was unable to report the matter on the same date due to body ache. The report was recorded as G.D. Entry No.106 of the Police Station and the Complainant forwarded to the Pakyong PHC along with a Police escort, for medical examination. The Medical Officer who examined the victim recorded the injuries to be "Simple" in nature. However, on 08-02-2014, the Complainant was admitted to the Central Referral Hospital, Tadong (for short "CRH") in a critical condition. The District Magistrate and the Medical Officer in charge were requested to record the statement of the victim under Section 32 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (for short "the Evidence Act"). The Police collected her Medical Report on 18-02-2014 from the CRH, Tadong, where the nature of injuries were recorded as grievous, due to internal bleeding. Consequently, suo motu FIR was registered by the SHO as Pakyong P.S. Case No.06/2014, dated 18-02-2014, under Section 325 of the IPC, against the Appellant and endorsed to P.W. 18, the Investigating Officer (for short "the I.O."), for investigation. The Accused was arrested on 19-02-2014 from Tingley, South Sikkim and enlarged on bail by the Police. On 23-02-2014, the victim was discharged from CRH, Tadong and admitted to Nivedita Multispecialty Hospital, Pradhan Nagar, Siliguri, West Bengal, for higher medical treatment, where on 30-03-2014, she passed away. Thereafter, the I.O. converted the offence under Section 325 of the IPC to Sections 302/498'A' of the IPC and on completion of investigation, submitted Charge-sheet against the Appellant under the above Sections of Law, on 20-08-2014. The Appellant was rearrested on 27-08-2014 and released by the Magistrate on 01-12- 2014, in terms of Section 167(2) of the Code of the Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short "Cr.P.C.").
(3.)Investigation revealed that the victim was a Teacher in the Government Secondary School, Phungla, South Sikkim, where she met the Appellant around the year 2004 and despite opposition, married him. Later, the Appellant obtained employment as a "Safaikaramchari" in the Government Senior Secondary School, Pacheykhani, East Sikkim and they started residing in a rented room after the victim's transfer from South Sikkim, but regular fights ensued between them, both being drinkers. Complaints of physical assault by the Appellant, on the victim, were resolved by family members and the Area Panchayat. This continued for a prolonged period without the victim initiating any action against the Appellant. On 03-02-2014, the Appellant, reportedly spent the night with the victim's uncle who was unwell, at Pacheykhani PHC, and on 04-02-2014 when the victim and her mother came visiting, the Appellant went to the market and consumed alcohol. Later, all of them including the patient, returned home and the victim entered her room to watch television with P.W.2 and P.W.3 where the Appellant followed and verbally abused her in front of the children while assaulting her with fists and blows. The frightened children ran out from the house but watched the incident through the window of the room, while P.W.3 her nephew, ran to the house of P.W.1, the mother of the victim (his grandmother), located nearby and called her. The victim ran into the kitchen to save herself and P.W.1 on her arrival pleaded with the Appellant to stop the assault, to no avail. The victim escaped and went to the house of P.W.5 at around 8 p.m., where she narrated the incident to her. On 05-02- 2014, being too weak to go out of the house, she lodged the Complaint Exhibit 18 at the Police Station only on 06-02-2014, accompanied by P.W.5. On 07-02-2014, the victim complained of severe headache with pain in her abdomen and hands and remained bed ridden the whole day. The next day, 08-02-2014, she informed P.W.5 that she was going to the Hospital but later villagers informed P.W.5 that the victim was resting in a nearby shed. P.W.5 rushed to the house of P.W.1 and along with her took the victim to CRH, Tadong, where the victim's condition was declared to be critical and she was put on ventilator. On 23-02-2014 she was admitted to a Siliguri Hospital where she died on 30-03-2014.