The court established that circumstantial evidence must form a complete chain to prove guilt, and the appellant's actions were mitigated by grave and sudden provocation, reducing the charge from murder to culpable homicide.

JUDGMENT :

(NEERAJ P. DHOTE, J. ) :

1. This is the Appeal under Section 374 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, ‘Cr.P.C.’) against the Judgment and Order dated 27.07.2020 passed by the learned Special Judge, Osmanabad in Atrocity Spl. Case No.26 of 2017 convicting the Appellant for the offence punishable under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as the, ‘I.P.C.’) and sentencing him to undergo Imprisonment for Life and to pay fine of Rs.1,000/- (Rs. One Thousand Only), in default, to undergo Simple Imprisonment for One (1) Month and to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for Three (3) years and to pay fine of Rs.500/- (Rs. Five Hundred Only), in default, to undergo Simple Imprisonment for One (1) Month, respectively.

2. The Prosecution’s case as revealed from the Police Report is as under :-

2.1. Shrirang Shahu Bhoite (hereinafter referred as ‘Deceased’) and Wife of the Appellant were having illicit relations. On 06.09.20217, they both had telephonic conversation and Wife of the Appellant called Deceased to her house. The Appellant learnt about the same. In the evening of 06.09.2017 Deceased went to the house of the Appellant to meet the Appellant’s Wife in absence of the Appellant. The Appellant got the Iron Katti from one of the witness and kept it under the seat of his motorcycle and gave the motorcycle to the Juvenile in conflict with law. The Appellant came home and saw Deceased and his Wife together at his home. The Appellant took Deceased on the Motorcycle of Deceased to the agricultural field. The Appellant called the Juvenile in conflict with law, in the agricultural field with his motorcycle having the Katti below the seat. Accordingly, the Juvenile in conflict with law reached on the said motorcycle at the agricultural field. The Appellant inflicted fatal blows on Deceased by the said Katti and committed his Murder. Thereafter, the Appellant and the Juvenile in conflict with law carried the dead body on the motorcycle of Deceased and threw the dead body in another agricultural field. They broke the number plate of motorcycle of Deceased and removed the sim card from the mobile of Deceased and destroyed the proof. The Appellant called Co-Accused Sudarshan in the agricultural field. The Co-accused assisted the Appellant in changing the clothes and concealing the clothes which he was wearing at the time of crime.

2.2. Since Deceased left his home in the evening of 06.09.2017 and did not return for Three (3) days, the father of Deceased lodged the Report with Shiradhone Police Station. On the next day, Police informed him that one motorcycle was found lying on Yermala - Babulgaon road and asked him to ascertain whether it was the motorcycle of his Son. Accordingly, father of Deceased went to the spot and identified the said motorcycle as that of his Son. During the search in the sugarcane field, dead body of his Son was found. There were injuries on the dead body. The Report was lodged by the father of Deceased against unknown persons and Crime No.150/2017 came to be registered for the offence punishable under Sections 302 and 201 of the I.P.C.

3. The Police performed the Inquest and referred the body for Post-mortem. The Spot Panchanama was drawn and Statements of the witnesses were recorded. The Post-mortem revealed the cause of death as ‘Haemorrhagic Shock caused by cut-throat injury and multiple chop wounds.’ The Appellant and Co-accused came to be arrested. Katti, clothes of the Appellant and driving licence of Deceased came to be seized pursuant to the voluntary statement of the Appellant. The Articles seized during the course of investigation, were referred to the Chemical Analyzer. The motorcycle used in the crime came to be seized. The Reports of Chemical Analyzers were collected. Since Deceased belonged to the Scheduled Caste, which was known to the Appellant, Sections 3 (2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (for short