JUDGMENT

Brijesh Kumar, J.-This is an appeal preferred against the judgment and order passed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court dismissing the appeal of the appellant and maintaining the sentence of imprisonment for life under Section 302 IPC as awarded by the First Additional Sessions Judge, Alirajpur in Sessions Trial No. 381/95.

2. The prosecution story is that on 11-2-1994 some time in the morning the deceased Magan, a boy aged 19 years went to the house of Lal Singh and started climbing upon his Tadi tree. Lal Singh accosted him abusively asking him as to why he had climbed upon his Tadi tree. Magan got down and went to the house of Lal Singh where Lal Singh pressed his neck and was tying rope around the neck of Magan when the PW-1 Gauri arrived who raised alarm saying that Lal Singh had killed her brother. She lodged a report at Police Post, Umrali, Police Station Somdawa. The police completed the investigation and submitted the charge-sheet. The rope was also recovered from the house of Lal Singh during the course of investigation by the police. The post mortem examination on the dead body was also conducted by PW-5 Dr. Jai Prakash Joshi.

3. In support of the prosecution case two eye witnesses namely, Gauri, the sister of the deceased and her brother PW-2 Jagla were examined. PW-3 Kemtiya @ Kemla was examined to prove the factum of death of Magan but he turned hostile. PW-4 Moti Ram Kher is the investigation officer and PW-5 is Dr. Jai Prakash Joshi who had conducted the post mortem examination. PW-6 B.S. Kadam is the other Investigation Officer and PW-7 Rakesh Kumar Misra is the Head Constable who had registered the case. The appellant also examined two defence witnesses.

4. PW-1 Gauri who is the elder sister of the deceased stated that the house of Lal Singh is near to her house. Magan was a student of class 9th. On the fateful day Lal Singh and Magan had returned at about day break from Umrali where they had gone to see Gata. Magan came to the house but later started following Lal Singh. PW-1 was outside of her house and saw that Magan started climbing on Tadi tree of Lal Singh which was objected to by Lal Singh. Since Magan had to go to School in Sondawa, PW-1 went to the house of Lal Singh to call Magan but she saw Lal Singh pressing neck of Magan and tying a rope around his neck. She raised an alarm. Lal Singh was all alone at his house, he ran away. Her alarm attracted PW-2 Jagla, PW-3, Kemta. She told them about the incident and thereafter she went to lodge the report.

5. PW-2 Jagla supported the statement of PW-2 Gauri stating that when he reached the house of Lal Singh on the alarm raised by PW-1 Gauri, he was Magan lying in the verandah of the house of Lal Singh. His feet were then moving a little. His sister Gauri was also present there at that time. A rope was also tied around the neck of Magan who died a little later. He further stated that on arrival at the spot, Gauri had told him that Lal Singh had pressed the neck of Magan. So far PW-3 Kemta is concerned, he turned hostile. He stated that he had seen the dead body of Magan lying outside the house of Lal Singh. He did not enquire from anyone as to how he died. He also stated that Gauri had not told anything about the death of Magan to him. In cross-examination by the prosecution he denied having made the statement to the police or having given other details to police.

6. So far as the place of occurrence is concerned, no dispute in regard to the same has been raised nor any argument on behalf of the appellant in this regard made nor the fact that the dead body was found lying in the house of Lal Singh. To a specific question put to the learned counsel for the appellant in this regard, he submitted that Magan seem to have committed suicide at the house of Lal Singh mainly for the reason, as according to the defence case his father has scolded him about his studies. We feel that is a strong circumstance which is not disputed that the dead body of Magan was lyin