The judgment underscores the requirement for the prosecution to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt through proven incriminating circumstances and a complete chain of evidence, cautioning against relying solely on confessional statements for conviction.

B.R. Gavai, J.

1. These two appeals filed by original accused Nos. 1 and 3 take exception to the Judgment and order passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Chandrapur, dated 7-1-2013 in Sessions Case No. 106 of 2011 thereby convicting them for the offences punishable under section 302 read with section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing them to suffer imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 5,000/- each and in default, to suffer rigorous imprisonment for three months.

2. The prosecution story in brief, as could be gathered from the material placed on record, is thus:-

Waman Bhiwapure (PW-4), a Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat, Thutra, received an information on 21-4-2011 that the dead body of unknown person was lying on the road side. As such, he went to the spot, saw the dead body and informed about the same to Police Station, Gadchandur vide report at Exh.53. Accordingly, A.D. No. 9/2011, under section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure came to be registered. P.S.I. Arvind s/o Dewaji Gurukar (PW-13) inquired into the Marg. He recorded spot panchanama (Exh.40) and Inquest panchanama (Exh.42). From the spot, he also seized one big stone stained with blood, a small stone, simple earth and earth smeared blood (Exh.44). The dead body was sent to hospital for post-mortem along with police questionnaire. Dr. Sanjay Ramesh Umate (PW-3) conducted autopsy on the dead body of deceased and opined in his P.M. Notes, that the cause of death was injury to the external genitals and bleeding thereafter with fracture thoracic ribs. The Investigating Officer also took blood sample and seized clothes of the deceased.

3. On the next day i.e. on 22-4-2011, at around 11.30 a.m., father of the deceased lodged report below Exh.37 alleging therein that accused No. 1 Sevaklal had come to his residence at 11.00 a.m. on 20-4-2011. He further stated in the said oral report that, around 4.00 p.m., accused Sevaklal had alone come to his house and without informing anything, went away taking deceased Shankar along with him. He has further stated that deceased Shankar did not come to the house. He received information on 21-4-2011 that his son was found dead on Gadchandur to Rajura road near Thutra Bus Stand. It is further alleged in the said oral report that there was a relationship between accused No. 1 and original accused No. 2 Suvarna wd/o Shankar Kasti. The report further states that the first informant had a suspicion that accused No. 1 has committed murder of his son. On the basis of the said oral report, the First Information Report came to be lodged below Exh.38. Investigation was set into motion. Accused No. 1 was arrested on 16-5-2011. During his police custody, on his memorandum below Exh.103, his clothes, mobile phone sets and five sim cards came to be recovered. Hero Honda Motor cycle was also seized. Accused No. 3 was also arrested on 17-5-2011. On memorandum under section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, his mobile hand set and mobile phone of deceased, handkerchief, Sim Card and clothes came to be recovered from the house of his mother-in-law. It further appears that the confessional statements of accused Nos. 2 and 3 were also recorded by the learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Rajura. Statements of various witnesses were also recorded.

4. After conclusion of investigation, charge-sheet came to be filed in the Court of Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Rajura. Since the case was exclusively triable by the Sessions Court, the same came to be committed to the learned Sessions Judge at Chandrapur vide order of the learned Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Rajura dated 18-7-2011. The learned Sessions Judge framed charges against the present appellants as well as original accused No. 2 Suvarna wd/o Shankar Kasti for the offences punishable under section 302 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code, under section 201 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code and under section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. The