DHARNIDHAR JHA, J.

1. Appellants Nageshwar Singh alias Pratap Narain Singh (who has described himself as Pratap Narain Sharma also in his statement under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure) and Malti Devi in Criminal Appeal No. 469 of 2006 are the parents of the sole appellant Srikant Singh in Criminal Appeal No. 575 of 2006. They were put on trial for committing the offences under Sections 302/34 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code and were found guilty of committing the offence of murder by the learned Presiding Officer of Fast Track Court, 1st, Nawada, in Sessions Trial No. 82/1999/5 of 2005 and each of them was directed to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life by the above noted court under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. No sentence of fine was imposed by the learned trial Judge while passing the judgment and order of conviction dated 19.5.2006 which is being assailed by the three appellants in the present two appeals.

2. Some of the admitted facts of the case are that Sushma Devi was married to appellant Srikant Singh and the couple had begotten three children-two daughters, who were the eldest and the youngest, and a son-and on the date of occurrence the deceased was residing in the house of the appellants. It is also not disputed that the deceased Sushma Devi had given birth to her third child just a prior to the occurrence and on that occasion she was residing in her parents house and had been brought by her husband to his house in Nawada. It is also not challenged that the death of Sushma Devi occurred.

3. Under the above background of the case, P.W. 2 Deo Narain Prasad Singh, the father of the deceased, gave his fardbeyan at the house of the appellants alleging that he had come to his house from his workplace at about 7 P.M. on 24.9.1998 when his wife, P.W. 5 Indira Devi, stated to him that Sushma had been murdered by her husband and in-laws. P.W. 5 stated to P.W. 2 that she had gathered the information from one of the ladies of the Mohalla that the deceased fell down from the roof and on that information she went to a particular place in Nawada town and found the dead body of Shushma lying in a trekker covered with a cloth. Appellant Srikant Singh and Nageshwar Singh replied to P.W. 5 on her query that she had fallen down from the roof-top and, as such, there was no need to cry, else, the situation could get worse. P.W. 5 stated to P.W. 2 that when she wanted to have a glance of her daughter, appellants Srikant Singh and Nageshwar Singh did not permit her to do so upon which Indira Devi (P.W. 5) sat in the trekker saying that she would also accompany them but both the appellants, Srikant Singh and Nageshwar Singh, pulled her out of the vehicle and sped away from.

4. P.W. 2 stated that after having learnt the above facts, he contacted some of his neighbours in the Mohalla and went to village Marara with them for enquiring about the truthfulness of the information and when he reached the house of the appellants he found that the dead body of his daughter was lying in the passage of the house of the appellants and it was covered with cloth which was removed by P.W. 2 and thereon he found that deep cut wounds were present on her head, neck and back, appearing caused by sharp cutting weapon. On making enquiry from the persons of neighbourhood, P.W. 2 claimed being told that while the deceased was cooking meals she was assaulted by her husband, appellant Srikant Singh, with . Tangi while the remaining two appellants, i.e. Nageshwar Singh and Malti Devi, caught hold of her. The deceased was mercilessly assaulted with Tangi by appellant Srikant Singh and others and the deceased was murdered.

5. P.W. 2 stated that he had four daughters and Sushma was the eldest among them who had been married to appellant Srikant Singh, whereas his second daughter had been married to a business man. He further stated that Srikant Singh and the deceased had three children-two daughters and one son, the third being born