R. S. MOHITE, J.

( 1 ) BY this appeal, the appellant (hereinafter referred to as "the accused") impugnes the judgment and order dated 20-8-1999 passed by the learned sessions Judge, Ahmednagar, in Sessions case No. 165 of 1998 by which the accused has been convicted for an offence punishable under section 302 of the Indian Penal code and has been sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 500/- in default to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for a further period of 15 days.

( 2 ) THE brief case of the prosecution as emerges from the record is as under : (a) That deceased Chilu alias Baba Bagaji Salve was the real brother of the accused bhanudas. Both these brothers were residing adjacent to each other at village Nepti. Taluka and District Ahmednagar. Chilu was married to P. W. 3 Nandabai, whereas, accused Bhanudas was married to Parvati. (b) That at about 2 p. m. on 29-8-1998. Parvati wife of the accused started abusing P. W. 3 nandabai. When Nandabai asked her as to why she was abusing her. Parvatibai told her that deceased Chilu had touched her and embraced her. P. W. 3 Nandabai asked her husband Chilu as to whether he had done any such thing but Chilu denied that he had committed any such act. Parvati also informed about the act of the deceased to her husband accused Bhanudas. (c) At about 12 noon the accused Bhanudas came to the house of the deceased, assaulted the inmates who were Nandabai, her daughter, her mother-in-law, broke the bulb and removed the wires. He also drove the members of the family of deceased out of their house and therefore, P. W. 3 nandabai alongwith her mother-in-law went to Nagar taluka Police Station in order to lodge a complaint against the deceased. The police were in the process of registering an NC complaint. While she was at the police station P. W. 9 Saibai who is the sister of the deceased and the accused and her husband P. W. 10 Ashok came to the police Station and told Nandabai that the accused assaulted her husband Chilu by knife and sword. (d) While non-cognizable complaint was about to be recorded, the police received a telephonic call from the Sarpanch of the village informing that Chilu had been assaulted by knife. P. W. 11 Police sub-Inspector Shrikrishna Rajdev, who was attached to Nagar Taluka Police Station, immediately rushed towards the village by a jeep. On reaching the spot, he noticed that Chilu had sustained several stab injuries. The police removed Chilu to the Civil Hospital at ahmednagar. P. W. 9 Saibai and her husband Ashok accompanied the body of Chilu to the Civil Hospital at Ahmednagar. However, on reaching the Civil Hospital, the doctor declared Chilu to be dead. P. W. 11 rajdev, PSI, then took Saibai and her husband P. W. 10 Ashok in the jeep to the Police Station. He recorded the complaint of nandabai (Exhibit 17) after informing her that her husband had died. He thereafter recorded the statements of Saibai and her husband Ashok. He then returned to the village and recorded the statements of other witnesses. He sent his staff in search of the accused and found the accused at about 3 p. m. at village Nimbodi. He arrested the accused and attached his clothes under panchanama (Exhibit 34 ). He then drew inquest Panchanama (Exhibit 13) and the panchanama of the scene of the offence (Exhibit 35 ). He recorded the statements of other witnesses including P. W. 5 Malan who was another sister of the accused and the deceased. On 31-8-1998 the accused made a statement that he would point out the knife concealed by him. Accordingly, a memorandum was prepared and a knife was discovered at the behest of the accused from the bushes near Marathi school and was attached under Panchanama. The clothes of the deceased were also attached under Panchanama (Exhibit 8 ). After completion of the investigation, muddemal was sent to the Chemical Analyser and after receipt of report of the Chemical Analyser (Exhibit 42), a charge-sheet came to be f