Judgment

G.N. RAY, J.- This appeal is directed against the judgment dated 6-2-1985 passed by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur in Criminal Appeal No. 279 of 1981 affirming conviction and sentence passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Shajapur, in Sessions Trial No. 28 of 1981. By the aforesaid judgment dated 24-9-1981, the learned Sessions Judge, Shajapur, convicted the accused/appellant Vijay under Section 302 IPC for murdering his wife Komal Bai and sentencing him to imprisonment for life for the said offence and also convicting him under Section 309 IPC for attempting to commit suicide and sentencing the accused/appellant rigorous imprisonment for one year by directing that both the sentences would run concurrently.

2. The prosecution case in short is that the appellant murdered his wife Kornai Bai aged 29 years at about 11.00 p.m. on 11-11-1980, by causing knife injuries on the neck and the chest of his wife. Such act of murder was committed in a room in the upper storey of the appellants home at Agar, Shajapur. The appellant along with his family members consisting of the deceased-wife, minor son, Chetan aged 9 years and infant daughter Kumari Seni, used to reside at the said home with his father, Basantilal. At about 11.00 p.m. on 11-1 1-1980, the brother of the appellant called Dr Chandra and informed him that his sister-in-law Komal Bai had been bleeding from the neck. Dr Sharma (PW 1) on reaching the residence of Basantilal found that in a room in the upper storey the said Komal Bai was lying dead with a bleeding injury on her neck. Letter dated 11- 10- 1980 purporting to be written by the appellant holding himself responsible for the murder of his wife and for his suicide was also found lying there. The police was informed by Dr Sharma about the said incident who rushed to the spot. On the arrival of the police, Dr Sharma scribed the Dehati Nalishi (Ex. P-3) and handed it over to Mokamsingh Nain (PW 26) the Station House Officer, Agar. The crime under Sections 302 and 309 IPC was registered at about 12.30 a.m. on the same night and investigation was started. The appellant who was admitted in the Agar hospital and examined at 12.17 a.m. on 12-11-1980 by Dr Sharma (PW 1) who found a ligature mark around the neck of the appellant and it was noted by the doctor that such a ligature mark had been caused within three hours of the examination. From the investigation it was revealed that the minor son of the appellant, Chetan (PW 4), was sleeping in the room where the said incident of murder had taken place. Chetan woke up and saw that his mother was lying on the floor with a bleeding injury on her neck and the appellant was there in the room, Chetan thereafter unbolted the door, went down and informed his grandfather Basantilal. When Basantilal reached the place of occurrence, he found that said Komal Bai was lying injured and the appellant was hanging with a rope tied around his neck. Basantilal with the help of the knife lying in the room cut the rope and removed it from the appellants neck. Komal Bais dead body was sent for postmortem examination and Dr Satish Jain (PW 24) on 12-11- 1980 at 9.30 a.m. conducted the postmortem, and the said doctor found one ante-mortem. incised wound on the right side of the neck and another on the left side of the chest. According to the doctor, injury on the neck was sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause the death of Komal Bai. The postmortem report is Ex. P-54. It transpired from the investigation that the appellant was in difficult financial circumstances and was indebted to several persons. It also transpired that the appellant had earlier contacted PW 17 Charikhan to ascertain from him as to how the licence for a pistol could be obtained. It may be stated that PW 9 Chironjilal Kushwah after disclosing his identity as Naib Tehsildar, Agar, asked the appellant to prepare copies of the letters stated to have been written by him and the appellant agreed to make su