Judgment

JUDGMENT:- This is an appeal under Section 379, Cr. P.C. read with the provisions of SC ( Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Act, 1970. The appellant (original accused N o I) was tried along with Bai Shohtu, a lady (original accused No. 2) under Section 302 read with Section 34, I.P.C. but acquitted. The State preferred an appeal to the High Court against the said. order of acquittal. The High Court. however; confirmed the acquittal of A-2, but convicted the appellant herein under Section 302. I.P.C. and sentenced him to imprisonment for life.

2. The prosecution case is as follows:

The deceased was the wife of the appellant. It is alleged that the appellant was having illicit relationship with accused No. 2 and therefore there was some misunderstanding between the appellant and the deceased. On the day of occurrence, i.e. on 24th December, 1972 at about 7.30 a.m. when the deceased was going for her work, accused No. 1 came there and gave her knife blows and accused No. 2 caught hold of the deceased and started beating her. On hearing some cries, people gathered and in the meantime the accused ran away. This occurrence was witnessed by PW- 2, the daughter and the PW-3, the son i.e. the children of the appellant and the deceased. PW-3 went to her grand-mother and told her that his father has killed his mother. There upon, PW-6 came to the scene of the occurrence and her statement was recorded first by the police who came to the scene of occurrence on some telephone message. There after, the police officer recorded the statements of PW-2 and PW-3 and sent the dead body for post mortem. The Doctor, M.T. Bhatt conducted the post mortem and found the incised injuries and opined that the cause of death is shock due to internal haemorrhage caused by injuries to liver, spleen and right lung. A case was registered and after completion of the investigation the charge-sheet was filed. The accused pleaded not guilty. prosecution mainly relied on the evidence of PW.2 and PW-3 and sought corroboration from the evidence of PW-4, Nanalal Shankarlal and PW-6, the grand-mother. The trial Court after having noticed that both PW-2 and PW-3 are children did not administer oath and recorded some questions and answers and proceeded to record their evidence. After having examined the evidence of these two eye-witnesses as well as that of PW. 4 and PW-6, the trial Court felt that it was not safe to place implicit reliance upon their evidence and acquitted both the accused. The High Court. however after having considered the evidence of PW-2 and PW-3 found accused No. 1, namely, the appellant guilty and accordingly convicted him and sentenced him to imprisonment for life.

3. Since this is a regular appeal, we have gone through the evidence of PW-2, PW-3., PW-4 and PW-6 meticulously. PW-2 was aged about 8 to 10 years and by way of cross-examination to a question put to her,. she stated that if she tells a lie, the police will beat her and she was afraid of police. She stated that at about 7.30 a.m. when her mother was going for work and on the way her father, namely, the appellant came and started giving blows with a knife. She also saw accused No. 2 inflicting knife blows on the deceased. Thereafter, the father ran away. She further deposed that as soon as her father started running away, Jakalben and one Maharaj (PW-4) came there. She sent her brother (PW-3) to inform the grand-mother. In the cross-examination, she admitted that she was afraid of the police personnel and that before informing the Court, one police officer and two other policemen told her to tell only whatever she had seen and that the police officer recorded her statement and they went on saying that she had to give her evidence according to her statement already recorded. She further admitted that the police first recorded the statement of her maternal grandmother and then her statement. She does not say that she informed anybody nor mentioned about her father having