JUDGMENT

Ravindra V. Ghuge, J. - The appellant/accused is before this Court in view of his conviction by the impugned Judgment & Order dated 21-02-2012 delivered by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Hingoli in Sessions Trial Case No. 72/2010 for having committed offences punishable u/s 376 & 302 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE (hereinafter referred to as "IPC"). He is directed to suffer rigorous imprisonment for seven years and pay a fine of Rs. 500/-, in default suffer rigorous imprisonment for three months, for the offence committed u/s 376 of the IPC. He has also been convicted for the offence committed u/s 302 of the IPC and is directed to suffer imprisonment for life and pay a fine of Rs. 500/-, in default suffer rigorous imprisonment for three months. Both the sentences are to run concurrently and time spent by the accused in Jail owing to his arrest on 30-03-2009, is directed to be set off.

2. We have heard the learned advocate for the appellant and the learned APP on 08-09-2020, 09-09-2020 and 10-09-2020. With their assistance, we have gone though the appeal paper-book threadbare and the judgments cited.

3. The case put up by the prosecution before the Trial Court can be summarized as under:

a. Ranjana, wife of the complainant - Yeshwant, is the deceased who has been subjected to offences punishable u/s 376 and 302 of the IPC. The appellantaccused Sakharam Sitaram Bhise is a resident of the same village Sukliveer. On 28.03.2009, the complainant was away from his village since he was plying an Auto/ Goods Transporting Vehicle. On 29.03.2009, in between 06.00 to 06.30 pm, he received a call from an acquaintance by name Arvind Mhatre informing him that his wife has fallen ill and he should reach Fatepur (Kharab). The distance was about 7 kms., and the complainant reached Fatepur (Kharab) at about 07.00 pm.

b. The daughter of the complainant, PW3 Kalpana, informed him that the deceased had gone to the forest adjoining the village at about 02:00 pm., for collecting firewood. Since she did not return for quite sometime till evening, she contacted her closest friend Ms. Bali, PW4 to go searching for her. They found the deceased with head injuries inflicted by stones and her face and skull smashed. The complainant therefore informed the Police Post at Dongarkada, which is within the jurisdiction of the Akhada Balapur Police Station.

c. Later on, after the FIR was registered, Kalpana told the complainant that Sakharam, present appellant, was seen by Kalpana and Bali near a pit adjacent to the Odha/Streamlet. He was pelting stones in the pit. These two girls saw him within a distance of about 100 ft. and as he belonged to the same small village, they could identify him. When Sakharam saw these two girls, he hurriedly left the area and fled. These two girls proceeded searchingly and on reaching the pit, they found that the deceased was lying in the pit with stones having been hit on her head. Both were terrified and ran back to the village to inform the relatives and the villagers. Being in a state of shock, these two girls found it difficult to correlate the presence of Sakharam, instantaneously as the only information that they gave to the relatives was that Ranjana was found dead.

d. The police began investigation and a sniffer dog from the Dog Squad available, was brought to the spot. A stick (Gahari Tree) which had blood stains and a large stone which was used for smashing the skull of the deceased with blood stains, were found. The dog handler guided the dog to smell the said articles at the spot and after the dog had sniffed around, he started sniffing a path from the Nala an