JUDGMENT :

SUMAN SHYAM, J.

All these three criminal appeals arise out of the common judgment and order dated 17.1.2019 passed by the Court of learned Additional Sessions Judge, Hojai in Sessions Case No. 74(N)/2017 whereby, each of the appellants have been convicted under section 302/201 of the IPC and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and also to pay fine of Rs. 10,000 each, in default, to suffer simple imprisonment for three months for the offence under section 302, IPC. For the offence under section 201, IPC the appellants have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years and also to pay fine of Rs. 6,000 each, in default, to undergo simple imprisonment for two months in addition. All the sentences were to run concurrently.

2. We have heard Mr. D. Talukdar, learned counsel for the appellant in Crl. Appeal No. 132/2019, Ms. B. Choudhury, learned amicus curiae appearing for the appellant in Crl. Appeal(J) No. 32/2019 and Mr. R. Dev, learned counsel appearing for the appellants in Crl. Appeal No. 314/2019. Ms. B. Bhuyan, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, Assam, has appeared on behalf of the State in all the three appeals.

3. The prosecution case, in a nutshell, is that the victim Nirjala Das, aged about 41 years, went missing on 12.7.2017 after she had gone to No. 1 Hatikhuli Rubber Garden to collect firewood. When the villagers were searching for her on the next day, i.e., 13.7.2017, they saw a newly dug up pit covered by soil and informed the Lumding Police Station. The police had arrived at the spot along with the Executive Magistrate, dug up the pit and took out the dead body of a woman (victim) who was later identified by the son of the victim.

4. The husband of the victim, Sri Gunadhar Das, had gone to Kolkata at that time but immediately upon receipt of information about his wife, he returned back to Lumding and lodged an ejahar with the Officer In-Charge of Lumding Police Station on 14.7.2017. In the ejahar dated 14.7.2017, the informant had also mentioned that he suspected that some unknown miscreants might have killed his wife and buried her in the hole.

5. It appears from the materials on record that upon receipt of information about the incident on 13.7.2017, G.D. Entry No. 296 was made in the Lumding Police Station and thereafter, the police had arrived at the spot and exhumed the body of the victim from a pit in presence of an Executive Magistrate. The ejahar was lodged on the next day, i.e., 14.7.2017 by the husband of the informant. Based on the ejahar dated 14.7.2017, Lumding P.S. Case No. 120/2017 was registered and the police took up the matter for investigation. During the course of investigation, the I.O. had recorded the statement of the informant and other witnesses, sent the body for post mortem and thereafter, submitted charge sheet against four accused-persons. Since the accused had pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried, the matter went up for trial.

6. There is no eye witness in this case and the prosecution case is entirely based on circumstantial evidence. In order to bring home the murder charge, the prosecution side had examined 10 witnesses.

7. In their statements recorded under section 313, Cr.PC the accused-persons had denied all the allegations brought against them. During trial, the defence side had also adduced evidence by examining three witnesses.

8. PW-1, Gunadhar Das, is the husband of the victim and is also the informant in this case. According to PW-1, the occurrence took place on 12.7.2017 when he was at Kolkata. Upon receipt of information from his son that his mother went to the jungle and had not returned till then, he immediately returned back to Lumding on the following day and found his wife's dead body at the Lumding Police Station. PW-1 has stated that he had found accused-Chandan Das at the Police Station but he could not say how his wife had died as the cause of her death was not known. This witness had deposed that he had lodged the eja