JUDGMENT

Pradip Kumar Mohanty, ACJ.—This criminal appeal is directed against the judgment and order of conviction and sentence dated 21.09.2004 passed by the learned Additional Judicial Commissioner, F.T.C. No. IV, Ranchi, in S.T. No.123 of 1999 (arising out of G.R. No. 633 of 1998), convicting the present appellant under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing him to undergo imprisonment for life.

2. The case of the prosecution is that on 19.03.1998, in the evening at about 6.30 PM, while the informant was talking with her sister-in-law in the courtyard of Jirku Munda, the informant’s husband also came and sat there. The informant’s brother-in-law (appellant) came there, armed with knife and assaulted the deceased on the shoulder due to which he fell down. Thereafter, accused assaulted two to three times by knife on his neck. When the informant and her sister-in-law tried to save the deceased, the accused again assaulted the informant’s husband by spade on the neck and thereafter the informant and her sister-in-law came out and raised hulla. After some time accused-appellant came out of the house and fled away. When the wife of the deceased (informant) and her sister-i