Madan B. Lokur, J.

1. The Appellant was sentenced to imprisonment for life by a judgment and sentence dated 7-6-2004 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Tinsukia in Sessions Case No. 66(CH)/2003.

2. The Appellant was charged with the gruesome murder of Bhusia Mandal. The case of the prosecution was that the Appellant first quarreled with Bhusia Mandal and then cut off her head with a dao.

3. The incident was witnessed by the minor son of Bhusia Mandal, that is, Anil Mandal. In fact, he recorded the First Information Report (FIR) on 18-9-2002 in which he said that around 7 p.m. on 17-9-2002 the Appellant came to his house and quarreled with his mother over some petty matter and then beat her with his hands, pressed her neck, pierced and hit her in the back with a dao and then left the place after cutting off her head. At that time Anil Mandal was about 13/14 years of age

4. The incident was witnessed by Anil Mandal's younger sister also but she was not produced in the witness box. We do not find any fault on the part of the prosecution in not producing this child witness.

5. Anil Mandal appeared in the witness box as PW-1 and he stated the broad facts. He stated that his father had expired a year earlier. At about 7 p.m. on the fateful day the Appellant came to his house. When the Appellant asked for the door to be opened, his mother opened the door. Thereafter the Appellant dragged her outside the house by pulling her hair and then brought her back inside the house in the same manner and pushed her on the bed. The Appellant then left the house and came back with a dao. At that time Anil Mandal's mother was washing utensils and the Appellant dragged her to the courtyard by pulling her hair and gave her dao blows on the neck. On seeing this, Anil Mandal ran away from the house towards the military camp, which was about 100 mtrs away from his house. When he came back he saw the Appellant carrying the head of his mother in one hand and also carrying a dao on the other. It is not known whether any action was taken by the military camp but Anil Mandal went and informed the police and lodged an FIR. In his cross examination he categorically stated that he saw the Appellant cutting the neck of his mother. During his cross examination, Anil Mandal also stated that when he came back from the military camp his mother was alive. There is obviously some discrepancy in this part of the statement of Anil Mandal, but we do not see any significance in this for the reason that he is a young boy of about 13/14 years and is likely to be overpowered by the situation and also because there is no doubt that his mother had been murdered. Whether she died before he left for the military camp or after he returned from there is of no consequence.

6. The other witnesses, that is, PW-2 to PW-5 are formal witnesses and we need not discuss their statements in detail, except to note that some of them saw the severed head of Bhusia Mandal. Therefore, in our opinion, there is no doubt about the fact that the head of Bhusia Mandal was severed from her body.

7. The Appellant gave a confessional statement on 19-9-2002 before the Magistrate under Section164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. His confessional statement reads as follows:

Around 6.30 p.m. on 17.9.2002, after closing the cycle shop which I have at the Ghumtibeel area and drinking a little foreign liquor went to the house of a widow Buchia Mandal by name to dissuade her from keeping illicit relation with different male person. As I had made a disclosure of the matter in presence of her son and daughter, she got ashamed of it; and started scolding in obscene language. I lost my patience and went home and taking out a 'Mit dao' again returned to her house. Upon finding her cleansing the utensils, I dealt her 5/6 cut blows and by severing her head off the body and took along both the head and the dao while proceeding to appear at the Police Station. When the policeman came and met me on the way, they ar