( 1 ) APPELLANT - accused Surendrapal Shivbalakpal, Aged : 36, is found guilty for the offences of kidnapping, rape and murder, punishable u/ss. 363, 376 and 302 I. P. Code by the learned Sessions Judge, Ahmedabad (Rural), Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, in Sessions Case No. 212 of 2002 and sentenced to suffer 7 years R. I. and to pay fine of Rs. 1000/- and i/d. to further under-go 3 months S. I. for the offence u/s. 363 I. P. Code, life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs. 2000/- i/d. to further under-go 5 months R. I. for the offence u/s. 376 I. P. Code and Death sentence for the offence u/s. 302 I. P. Code and ordered to hang him till he dies. After passing this order of conviction and sentence on 20. 6. 2003 against the appellant - accused, the learned Sessions Judge has made reference to this Court u/s. 366 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for confirming the death sentence awarded by him to the accused for the offence u/s. 302 I. P. Code which is registered as Criminal Confirmation Case No. 1 of 2003. The Appellant - accused has also challenged his order of conviction and sentence through Jail by way of Criminal Appeal No. 770 of 2003. Therefore, both these matters were heard together and disposed of by this Judgment.

( 2 ) THE prosecution case, in brief, is as under :- complainant Kevalpati was staying on the ground floor, whereas accused Surendrapal was staying in one room as her tenant on the first floor and pay rent of Rs. 350/- per month since two months of the incident. On 11. 9. 2002 complainant Kevalpati was sleeping on the cot along with her two minor daughters Gayatri Manju and Savitri @ Sanju, aged 8 and 7 years respectively on the Otla of her house. At about 10. 00 p. m. accused came in drunken condition and asked the complainant to allow him to have sexual intercourse with her and offered Rs. 150/- for the same. She refused it and asked the accused to go away, but he did not leave the place and sat on the cot. Therefore, she went in the rear portion of her house where her brother Rajaram was sleeping with her son Manoj and told them that accused was harassing her. They came and scolded the accused and driven him out from that place. Rajaram asked him to go to his room on the first floor, but the accused did not go to his room and left the place by saying that he is going to his brothers house at HUDCO. Thereafter, Rajaram and Manoj had gone back to their respective place to sleep. Kevalpati slept on the cot with her daughters. However, after some time she went inside the house, as she was feeling cold, leaving her both the minor daughters sleeping on the cot all alone. At about 1. 00 Oclock in the mid-night she came out from the house to see her minor daughters sleeping alone on the cot on the Otla of her house. Gayatri @ Manju was sleeping on the cot, but Savitri @ Sanju was not there. Thereupon, she called her brother Rajaram and her son Manoj, who were sleeping on the rear portion of her house and also called her brother-in-law Ramvaran from his house, which was nearby to her house. They searched "sanju" in the nearby places as well as in the room of the accused Surendrapal. Accused Surendrapal was also not there in his room. Thereupon, Ramvaran told them that when he woke up at about 1. 00 Oclock in the mid-night and came out from his house to answer the call of nature, while coming out from the bath-room he had seen accused Surendrapal near the cot and taking away one girl on his shoulder, but he thought that she must be the daughter of Fulchand, son-in-law of the brother of the accused, therefore, he did not ask him anything or stop him. While leaving the place the accused said to the complainant Rajaram and Manoj that he is going to his brothers house at HUDCO and, therefore, all of them had gone there in search of accused Surendrapal at his brothers house. However, he was not found at his brothers house. Then they went to the house of Shital where the accused was earlier staying as tenant.