JUDGMENT :

K. SOMASHEKAR, J.

1. This is one of the classic appeals whereby the appellant/accused is challenging the impugned judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 22.07.2017 rendered by the IV-Additional District and Sessions Judge, Madhugiri (hereinafter for brevity referred to as the ‘trial Court’) in S.C. No. 5051/2016, convicting the appellant/accused for the offence punishable under section 302 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 and sentencing her to undergo life imprisonment and pay fine of Rs. 10,000/- in default, to undergo simple imprisonment for one year. Whereas in this appeal, the appellant/accused is seeking intervention in the aforesaid judgment of conviction and order of sentence by considering the grounds urged in the appeal and consequently, seeking for setting aside the judgment of conviction and order of sentence rendered in the aforesaid case against her and acquit her of the offence punishable under section 302 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter for brevity referred to as the ‘IPC’).

2. Heard learned counsel Sri. R.P. Chandrashekar appearing for the appellant/accused and Sri. Vijaykumar Majage, learned Additional State Public Prosecutor appearing for the respondent-State and perused the impugned judgment of conviction and order of sentence rendered by the trial Court in S.C. No. 5051/2016.

3. The factual matrix of the appeal are as under:

It is transpired in the case of the prosecution that, on 24.08.2016 at around 2.00 p.m. the accused had come with her husband CW-1, who is examined as PW-1 - Manjunatha, to the Renuka Hospital situated at Koratagere along with their two months’ old girl baby for treatment, as the child was suffering from some respiratory problem and also epilepsy. Later, on the same day, at around 4.00 p.m. as the child had respiratory problem and epilepsy, the accused, who is none other than the mother of the deceased girl baby, was not getting the enough milk to feed the baby, threw her baby into Suvarnamukhi river by the side of Koratagere town. This is the narration in the complaint made by PW-1 - Manjunatha and based upon his complaint, criminal law was set into motion by recording FIR as per Ex.P15 for the offence punishable under section 302 of IPC. Subsequent to registration of the crime and so also criminal law was set into motion, PW-15 - S. Muniraju being an Investigating Officer, took up the case for investigation and during investigation, he conducted spot panchanama at Ex.P2 in the presence of PW-7 and PW-12 and took photographs at Ex.P3 and Ex.P4 and also conducted inquest over the dead body of two months’ old baby in the presence of the panch witnesses as per Ex.P8 in the presence of PW-5 - Babu, PW-6 - Abhilash and PW-7 - Adinarayana. The dead body of the two months’ old baby had been sent to the mortuary and whereby PW-14 - Dr. Rudramurthy who conducted autopsy over the dead body and issued postmortem report as per Ex.P14 and whereby he opined that the cause of death was due to asphyxia as a result of drowning.

4. Subsequent to completion of the investigation done by PW-15 by following the requisite provisions of section 173(2) of Code of Criminal Procedure, whereby laid the charge sheet against the accused before the committal court and the committal court had passed an order under section 209 of Code of Criminal Procedure, by following the requisite provisions and the case has been committed to the Sessions Court for trial. Subsequently, the accused has been secured to face the trial, whereby the trial Court has framed charges against the accused for the offence punishable under section 302 of IPC and by hearing on charge by the learned Public Prosecutor so also defence counsel, read over and explained the charges to the accused in the language known to her. However, the accused pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried and accordingly, plea of the accused has been recorded separately.

5. In order to prove the case of the prosecution, the prosecution examined, in a