Judgment

BHAGWATI, J.: This is an appeal by special leave from the judgment of the High Court of Judicature at Patna dismissing the appeal of the Appellant and confirming the death sentence passed upon him by the learned Sessions Judge of Monghyr.

2. The charge against the Appellant was that he on or about the night between the 10th and 11th December 1952, in a village called Dariapur Tetaria, District Monghyr, Police Station Kharagpur, committed murder by intentionally or knowingly causing the death of Musammat Sobha and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. He was also charged under Section 201 read with Section 511 of the Indian Penal Code.

The trial was held with the aid of four assessors who were unanimously of the opinion that he was guilty of murder and also guilty of the other charge brought against him. The learned Sessions Judge agreed with the opinion of the assessors and convicted him of the offence of murder and sentenced him to death subject to confirmation by the High Court. The Appellant preferred an appeal from jail and both the appeal as well as the reference made by the learned Session Judge were heard by the High Court with the result mentioned above.

3. The case of the prosecution was that Musammat Sobha an old woman aged about 70 resided with her son-in-law Sattan Jadav and grandson Jugeshwar. She possessed about 3 1/2 to 4 bighas of land & she had given Jugeshwar on the occasion of his marriage about 1 1/2 bighas of land. The remaining lands were cultivated by Sattan on her behalf. The Appellant was not directly related to the old woman, but his wife was related to her, the latter being a sister of the maternal grandmother of the Appellant s wife. Though Musammat Sobha lived with her son-in-law and grandson, she had occasional differences with them and on such occasions she stayed in the house of the Appellant.

Some eight or ten days before the night of occurrence, she had been taken to the house of the Appellant on the invitation to partake of some sweets prepared from fresh milk of a she-buffalo, which had recently given birth to a calf. She stayed in the house of the Appellant for some days and on the 8th December 1952 she was taken to the office of the Sub-Registrar at Kharagpur where she executed and got registered a deed of sale in favour of the son of the Appellant, in respect of some 2 bighas and 19 dhurs of land.

When Sattan came to know of the execution of the sale deed he went to the house of the Appellant and made an enquiry. On learning that such a sale deed had been executed Sattan gave an information at the police station and filed an application in the name of his son in the office of the Sub-Registrar. In the application made to the Sub-Registrar it was alleged that the old woman was of poor understanding and no consideration had been paid for the sale and a prayer was made that an enquiry be made from the people of the village as to the mental capacity of the old woman. In the information which was given at the police station it was alleged that the sale deed had been executed as a result of undue influence and pressure.

This application and the information were given on the morning of the 10th December 1952. Early on the 11th December 1952 it was discovered that the old woman was dead. The prosecution case was that early in the morning of the 11th, the Appellant went to a neighbouring village to purchase coffin cloth. He brought the coffin cloth and was anxious to cremate the dead body. Sattan and other villagers came to know of it and suspecting some foul play, they informed the chowkidar and the deffadar, both of whom came and stopped the Appellant from taking away the dead body for cremation. One Jagdish Jadav (P.W. 1) was then sent to police station which was at a distance of about 8 miles from the village and he gave an information at about 11 a.m. on the 11th December 1952.

An inquest was held on the dead body of the old woman and the dead