YOGESH KARKI Vs. STATE OF SIKKIM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 30th September, 2004 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, South and West at Namchi convicting the accused-appellant under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing him to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 10.000/-

(2.) The facts of the case as set out in the prosecution story brings to light a sad and shocking incident of a son (accused-appellant) killing his own father (deceased) in a small village called 'Malbasay' in West Sikkim. The backdrop against which the whole tragic episode took place is as follows : The deceased Tika Ram Karki was a resident of a small village in West Sikkim called 'Malbasay'. He was born and brought up in the same village and was living there with his family. He had married three wives and at the relevant time he had twelve sons and three daughters. All the sons and daughters, except the accused-appellant Yogesh Karki, the youngest of the sons from Smt. Bal Kumari Karki, the second wife of the deceased, had been married. The deceased owned two plots of land one dry field measuring 2.2180 hectares at Malbasay Busty and one paddy field measuring .5560 hectares at Suntaley Busty. While the dry field was partitioned amongst the twelve sons, the paddy field was retained by the deceased and his two surviving wives as "jiwani land" for their maintenance during their life time. However, sometime in the month of January, 2003 the deceased sold away the "jiwani land" to one Saran-Singh Chettri (P. W. 7) of the same village for Rs.2,02,000/-. Out of this consideration money, the deeased had already received an advance ' payment of Rs. 1,72,000/- from the purchaser and the sale deed executed between them was going to be registered on 1st October, 2003 in the Office of the SDM, Soreng. Since the deceased had not given any share to his second wife Smt. Bal Kumari Karki, from the advance money so recceived by him she had filed an objection against the registration of the sale deed through the local Panchayat. The accused appellant was bitterly disappointed at the exclusion of his mother Smt. Bal Kumari Karki from her share of the Sale proceeds of the "jiwani land" and was contemplating ways and means to stop the registration of the sale deed. The only course of action he came to decide finally, to stop the impending registration of the sale deed was to eliminate his father before the date fixed for registration of the sale deed. The accused appellant got such opportunity when the deceased in the early morning of 28th September, 2003 left for the house of the Blacksmith Kharga Bahadur at Mangasari Tarpu for the purpose of tempering and sharpening cutting weapons. Thus when his father left for the place of the Blacksmith at Mangsari Tarpu, he followed him and kept waiting at a place ' called "Halley Khola" at Mangsari for his father to return. When the deceased reached that place at around 14-40 hrs. on his way back from the Blacksmith's place the accused appellant joined him and both of them headed for their house in Malbasay taking a short cut route. When they passed Bhu Khola one Ms. Rojeela Tamang (P. W. 2) and Mani Kumar Rai (P. W. 11) who were washing their vehicle saw the deceased and the accused appellant proceeding towards their residence along the short-cut route. According to them, the accused-appellant was carrying one naked Khukuri in his hand. Some 15-20 minutes after they passed, the accused-appellant hurriedly rushed back along the same route, and on reaching the place where P. W. 2 and P. W. 11 were still busy washing their vehicle, he (accused appellant) blurted out to them that he had finished off his father and since they were the only persons who had earlier seen him passing through that route with his father, they should not divulge the matter to anybody, and if they did so, they will face dire consequences. Thereafter, he headed for his house. On reaching home at around 16-00 hrs., the accused-appellant told his mother that he had "brought peace to everybody" and saying so, he left for another village called "Tarethang Busty" in East Sikkim on the pretext of visiting his relatives and friends there. It is the case of the prosecution that, on reaching a secluded place some distance away from the place where P. Ws. 2 and 11 saw them, the accused appellant seized the opportunity and struck the deceased on the neck with the Khukuri from behind nearly severing the head of the deceased from his trunk and thereby causing his death instantly on the spot. Thus, it was after he perpetrated the crime that he rushed back to the P. Ws. 2 and 11 and divulging to them as to what he had done threatened them not to divulge the same to anybody.

(3.) On 30th September, 2003 at around 11-45 hrs., a written complaint (Ext.I) jointly signed by Tek Bahadur Karki (P. W. 5), Nar Bahadur Karki (P. W. 12) and Hem Kumar Karki (P. W. 13), all sons of the deceased, stating that their father Tika Ram Karki was found lying dead near Bhu Khola and they suspected that he had been slaughtered with a sharp cutting weapon, was received at the Soreng Police Station. On the basis of this written complaint, Soreng P. S. case No. 03 (9)03 dated 30th September, 2003 under Section 302 IPC against unknown person was registered and investigation was taken lap. In the course of the investigation, the I. O. visited the place of occurrence at Bhu Khola where the dead body of the deceased was found lying in a tilting position, resting on the right. The dead body had two deep injuries on the throat nearly severing the head from the trunk. A naked khukri measuring approximately 21" with handle stained with dry blood was found lying near the dead body. One small bag and an umbrella were also found lying on the spot. Inquest of the dead body was conducted and the dead body was sent to the Namchi hospital for autopsy. The Khukuri with dry blood stains on the handle, the umbrella and the small bag which were found at the place of occurrence were seized in presence of two witnesses. It came to light during the investigation, that the deceased was a resident of Malbasay where he was living with his family since his birth. He had gone to the house of one Blacksmith at Tarpu for tempering /sharpening one khukuri and one Kunzo (a kind of hammer with a pointed end) in the early morning of 28th September, 2003 and had failed to return home. Therefore, the sons of the deceased had been searching for him from 30th September, 2003 and in course of such search they had come upon the dead body of the deceased at Bhu Khola. It also came to light that the accused appellant, namely, Yogesh Karki was found missing from home since 28th September, 2003 afternoon. On receipt of this information, the police deployed source to trace him out. Secret information was received to the effect that the said Yogesh Karki had visited his house at Malbasay in the evening of 1st October, 2003. On receipt of the secret source information, a police team rushed to the house of the accused and nabbed him. On seeing the police, the accused appellant voluntarily confessed that he had killed his father at a place called "Pairaney jungle" near Bhu Khola on 28th September, 2003 with a khukuri and leaving the dead body and the weapon of offence at the scene of crime he had proceeded to Tarethang Busty, East Sikkim. This disclosure was made by the accused appellant in his house in the presence of his mother Smt. Bal Kumar Karki (P. W. 3) and one Lal Bahadur Bhandari (P. W. 14). After the confession was made, the accused appellant was arrested on the spot and taken into custody.