The judgment emphasizes the importance of framing charges to give notice to the accused, the need for incriminating circumstances to be put to the accused during examination under section 313 of the Cr.P.C., and the requirement for conclusive evidence for conviction.

(Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NAVANITI PRASAD SINGH)

The sole appellant has been convicted under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code ( for short ‘I.P.C.’) and section 201 of the I.P.C. and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life in respect of both offences concurrently by the judgment of conviction and sentence dated 15.11.1990 by the 4th Additional Sessions Judge, Gaya, in Sessions Trial No. 25 of 1988.

2. It may be noticed here that originally the appellant and three others, namely, Kishori Sao, Srichand Sao and Brij Sao were all tried and charged for offences punishable under sections 302/34 and 201/34 of the I.P.C., respectively, but the trial court acquitted the three other accused while convicted appellant Jainandan Prasad Singh as noticed above.

3. The charges, as noted above, were under two heads; firstly that the appellant and three others had on 10th of September, 1986 at village Kurkihar, Faudariya Pyne P.S. Wazirganj, District Gaya intentionally committed the murder of Bimla Sinha in furtherance of common intention and thereby committed offence punishable under section 302/34 of the I.P.C. and secondly that on the same day same month same year and same time having full knowledge that murder of Bimla Sinha had been committed, made disappearance of her dead body with an intention of screening the crime and evidence in furtherance of common intention and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 201/34 of the I.P.C. Bimla Sinha happened to be wife of the sole appellant. The accused persons had denied the charges, pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried.

4. The prosecution set up story that the appellant having been married about two years earlier had not taken his wife Bimla Sinha to his matrimonial home as Bidai (second marriage) could not be performed. The marriage was without any dowry. One month after the marriage, he had come to the residence of his Sasural for one night but thereafter he demanded a motor-cycle and on not being able to get the same he did not come for Bidai (second marriage) of his wife. All of a sudden on 09.09.1986 at about 2P.M. he came from Nawadah, where he worked as an illiterate Chaprasi (Peon) in a school and disclosed that his wife was to appear in an interview for teacher at Ranchi, she being a matriculate and she should be allowed to go. At 4P.M. the same day, he allegedly left with his wife for the said purpose.

5. On 11.09.1986 in the afternoon an unidentified dead body of a young lady was found in Faudariya Pyne of village Kurkihar about 10 K.Ms. from Wazirganj Police Station, for which Wazirganj P.S. Case No. 113 of 1986 was registered and after photograph being taken, the body was sent for post-mortem and as it could not be identified, the same was cremated.

6. On 13.09.1986 in the afternoon, the appellant was said to have gone to his co-brother-in-law (Sadhu) Mahendra Singh (P.W.6) at Nawadah Collectorate and informed him that Bimla Sinha, while being taken to Ranchi had terrible stomach pain and as such she was taken to Patna, where in course of operation being performed she died and she was cremated there and the father-in-law might be, accordingly, informed. Mahendra Singh (P.W.6), accordingly, came to the village of father-in-law, which was nearby and informed him about the incident on 13.09.1986 in the evening. On 14.09.1986 in the morning, one co-villager, also by the name of Mahendra Singh (P.W.8), came and informed the father in law Kapildeo Singh (P.W.9) that at Wazirganj, District Gaya on 13.09.1986 he heard that the Police had found an unidentified dead body of a lady and he went to Jugnu Photo Studio and saw the photo and identified it as the daughter of Kapildeo Singh and, accordingly, asked him (informant) to go to Wazirganj Police Station, whereafter on 14.09.1986 Kapildeo Singh went to Wazirganj Police Station and identified the photograph of his daughter and returned to Nawadah, whereafter on 16.09.1986 he gave a written statem