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IN THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM & ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
Michael Zothankhuma, N.Unni Krishnan Nair
Badal Gorh, S/O. Sri Kunu Gorh – Appellant
Versus
State Of Assam Rep. By PP – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
M. Zothankhuma, J.
Heard Mr. B. J. Talukdar, learned Senior Counsel and Amicus Curiae for the appellant, assisted by Mr. P. K. Medhi, learned counsel. Also heard Ms. A. Begum, learned Addl. Public Prosecutor, Assam.
2. This appeal has been filed against the impugned judgment and order dated 16.09.2020, passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Lakhimpur, North Lakhimpur, in Sessions Case No. 8(NL)/2018, by which the appellant has been convicted under Section 302 of the IPC and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life with a fine of Rs.1,000/-, in default, rigorous imprisonment for one month, on account of the appellant killing his wife with a dao.
3. The prosecution case, in brief, is that an FIR dated 07.08.2017 has been submitted to the In-Charge, Silonibari Out-post by Prosecution Witness No.1 (PW-1), who is the brother of his deceased sister. The FIR states that the deceased was his elder sister and that she had been killed by her husband (appellant) around 2 am on 06.08.2017, where her neck was slit with a dao. Pursuant to the FIR, North Lakhimpur P.S. Case No. 1019/2017 under Section 302 of the IPC was registered.
4. The Investigating Officer (PW-12) thereafter took up th
Circumstantial evidence and extra-judicial confessions can sustain a murder conviction, provided they form a complete chain, even without eyewitness testimony.
Circumstantial evidence, coupled with a lack of alibi or credible explanation from the appellant, sufficiently establishes guilt in a murder conviction under Section 302 IPC.
Circumstantial evidence must form a complete and unbroken chain to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt; mere suspicion is insufficient for conviction.
Circumstantial evidence and extra-judicial confession, when corroborated by testimony, can support a conviction for murder under Section 302 IPC.
A confessional statement made voluntarily and corroborated by other evidence can be relied upon for conviction even if it is retracted during the trial.
The prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt through an unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence; mere suspicion is insufficient for conviction.
Conviction based on circumstantial evidence requires a complete chain of evidence excluding all reasonable hypotheses of innocence; extrajudicial confessions need corroboration to be reliable.
The court relied on circumstantial evidence, the credibility of witnesses, and the nature of the injuries to establish the guilt of the accused under IPC 302.
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