The admissibility of evidence obtained from the accused's disclosure statement and the reliability of extra-judicial confession are crucial in proving the offence beyond reasonable doubt.

JUDGMENT :

Ramesh Sinha, J.

1. This criminal appeal under Section 374(2) of the CrPC is directed against the judgment dated 06.01.2016 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Saraipali, District – Mahasamund (C.G.) in Sessions Trial No.64/2014, whereby the learned Additional Sessions Judge has convicted the appellant for offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life and fine of Rs.2,000/-, in default of payment of fine to further undergo simple imprisonment for two months.

2. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that on 28.07.2014 the informant Aagarati Soni (PW-1) lodged oral report regarding unnatural death of the deceased Ku. Priya Soni at Outpost Bhanwarpur, Police Station Basna stating therein that deceased Ku. Priya Soni had gone to the pond to take bath after telling her younger sister Ku. Siriya Soni at around 9.30 am and when she did not return home till around 12 o’clock, Ku. Siriya Soni told Kotwarin Chandrabai in this regard that there was no one in the house, Ku. Priya had gone to take bath and had not returned. Then the family members came home and started searching for Ku. Priya. While searching Vijay and Rajesh had shown her dead body floating on the water in the same pond where she had gone to take a bath, later others saw, deceased’s scarf (odhni) was found in a patch on the bank of the pond and the deceased’s slippers were found inside the pond. The deceased appears to have died by drowning in water while bathing. On the basis of said information of untimely death, merg intimation was registered at the police outpost Bhawarpur and in connection with the investigation about the death of deceased Priya Soni, the Bhawarpur police reached the spot and prepared the panchnama of the dead body and to know the exact cause of death, the dead body was sent for postmortem to Community Health Centre, Basna, wherein Dr. B. B. Koshariya (PW-14) conducted post postmortem vide Ex.P-14 and opined that cause of death was asphyxia due to drowning.

3. After investigation in the case, Crime No. 2989/14 was registered against the accused at Police Station, Basna under Section 302 of the IPC vide Ex.P-18. The appellant was taken into custody vide Ex.P-13, his memorandum statement was taken in presence of Premlal (PW-9) and Jainarayan (PW-6) vide Ex.P-10 and pursuant to his memorandum statement, one small steel bucket, 2 blue colour petticoat, one green half sleeve T-shirt, 1 full sleeve brown shirt, 1 pink colour scarf (odhni), 1 colurful kurta, 1 light blue salwar, 1 green sameej, 1 pink undergarment, 1 hair bun and 1 bath soap in plastic container were seized vide Ex.P-11 and one Micromax company mobile was seized vide Ex.P-12. The appellant/accused was made extra-judicial confession before Shyam Kumar Patel (PW-4) and Mohitram (PW-5) that he has committed murder of the deceased by drowning her on pond.

4. Statements of the witnesses were recorded under Section 161 of the CrPC. After completion of investigation, charge-sheet was filed against the appellant/accused and it was committed to the jurisdictional Criminal Court for hearing in accordance with law for offence under Section 302 of the IPC. The appellant herein abjured the guilt and entered into defence.

5. In order to bring home the above-stated offence, the prosecution examined as many as 23 witnesses and exhibited 19 documents Exs.P-1 to P-19, whereas the accused/appellant has examined two witnesses in his defence.

6. The trial Court after appreciating oral and documentary evidence available on record, by its judgment dated 06.01.2016, convicted the appellant for offence under Section 302 of the IPC and sentenced him as aforementioned, against which, this criminal appeal has been preferred by the appellant/accused.

7. Ms. M. Asha, learned counsel for the appellant, would submit that the prosecution has failed to prove the offence beyond reasonable doubt as death is established to be drowning, but it has not been established