Circumstantial evidence must form a complete chain leading to the only conclusion of guilt, supported by credible witness testimonies and admissions by the accused.

JUDGMENT & ORDER :

S.K. Medhi, J.

1. The instant appeal has been preferred from jail against a judgment and order dated 21.01.2020 passed by the Sessions Judge, Hailakandi in Sessions Case No. 08/2019 registered under Section 302 IPC with R.I. for life and a fine of Rs.10,000/-.

2. The criminal law was set into motion by lodging of an Ejahar by the PW1 on 30.07.2018 alleging, inter alia, that on the previous evening at about 6 p.m., his mother was assaulted by his step-brother (the appellant) leading to her death. It has been alleged that following a disagreement over of certain family issue, the appellant, with an intention to kill his mother assaulted her on various parts of her body by means of a lathi causing injuries and thereby killed her at the place of occurrence. He had accordingly raised a hue and cry and other members of the family had come to the place of occurrence and confined the accused whereafter the police had come and took the dead body of the mother as well as the accused to the police station.

3. Based on the aforesaid Ejahar, the formal F.I.R. was registered as Lala P.S. Case No. 331/2018 under section 302 IPC. The investigation was accordingly done in which statements of the relevant witnesses were recorded, sketch map prepared, post-mortem done and after completion of the investigation, the charge sheet was laid before the learned Court. The charge was accordingly framed against the appellant and on its denial, the trial had begun in which the prosecution had adduced witnesses through 9 numbers of PWs.

4. PW 1 is the informant, who is the step-brother of the appellant. He had deposed that on the fateful evening when he was returning home, he heard a hue and cry from the house of his mother and on going there, found his mother lying on the ground with head injuries and the appellant was standing with a stick in his hand. On his asking, the appellant had replied that he had assaulted his mother. Thereafter, the police was informed and the mother was declared dead. He had accordingly lodged the Ejahar which was proved as Ext. 1. During the investigation, the police had seized the stick which is a heavy piece of split betel nut tree in his presence and the seizure list was proved as Ext. 2 in which the signature of the informant was also taken. He had also narrated an earlier incident of causing of injuries by a dao by the appellant on his wife in which his wife was badly injured. He had also deposed that in the year 2001, the appellant had assaulted one teacher, namely, Jamir Master who had died of the assault and the expenses of the litigation in the Juvenile Court was borne by him. In the cross-examination, he had stated that the house in which his mother was staying with the appellant comprised of only one room. He was given a suggestion that there was certain land dispute which led to giving false evidence which was however denied by him.

5. PW 2 is a neighbour who had deposed that on the fateful day, at about 6 pm, he had heard hue and cry in the house of the accused person and when he had gone there, he found many people gathered and the appellant was standing there with a heavy piece of stick of a betel nut tree and his mother was lying on the ground of the veranda. He had also narrated that in the year 2016, the appellant had brutally assaulted his sister-in-law by means of a sharp dao and in the said injury, the sister-in-law had somehow escaped from her death in connection with which a police case was also registered. In the cross examination, he had clarified that he was a neighbour and the appellant and the informant were brothers from the same mother whose fathers were however different. The suggestion regarding land dispute to be the reason has been denied and rather he had deposed that the appellant had confessed his offence before the police.

6. PW 3 is also a person from the same locality who had deposed in similar terms as PW 2. He had stated that on the fateful evening, he had heard hue and cr