S.S. BYAS, J.—Accused Makhan Lai Masih was convicted under sec. 302, I.P.C. and sentenced to imprisonment for life by the learned Sessions Judge, Bhilwara by his judgment dated September 21, 1979. He has come up in appeal to challenge his conviction and sentence. The accused has been found guilty for committing the murder of his wife Smt. Soni.

2. Briefly stated the case set-up by the prosecution is that the accused is a resident of village Berana P.S. Asind district Bhilwara. He was originally a Hindu belonging to the Scheduled Caste Balai. He renounced Hinduism and ambraced Christianity in 1970. He wanted to convert her to Christianity but Smt. Soni did not oblige him despite his persistent afforts. It is suggested that it sowed the seeds of discordance between them. The Christian Mission gave him a job at Rudki in Uttar Pradesh. He started living there but used to come to his house at Berana after an interval of two or three months. Three children were born to Smt. Soni from him out of whom Kumari Prem is the eldest. She was nearly 9 years in age at the time of the commission of offence (December 1978). The accused came from Rudki in December 1978 on the occasion of Christmas Day. In the evening of December 23, 1978 the accused, the victim Smt. Soni, P.W 3 Kumari Prem and other children after taking their meals went to sleep. They slept together in a room of their house shown by mark 2 in the site plan Ex. P. 3. In the early hours of December 24, 1978 the accused awoke his children, left the house and told PW 1 Ku. Prem that her mother had gone to village Babaji-ki-Mandi. The accused first took his children to Babaji-ki-mandi and from there to Asind. At Asind he went to the house of PW 12 Hari Narain who is also a Christian and requested him to keep his children. He also told him that his wife wanted to kill him and bis children and he had brought the children to him with great difficulty. He had brought them so that they might remain Christian. He also told him that his wife wanted the children to remain as Hindus. Hari Narain refused to keep the children. From Asind, the accused took the children to Beawar on the same day and kept them with some Christian family. Smt. Soni used to wear silver Kariyas (Article 1) in her feet. The accused pawned these Kariyas to PW 5 Bhanwar Lal for a sum of Rs. 300/-. From Beawar he went to Ajmer and returned on December 25, 1978. He picked up his children from Beawar and brought them to Asind. At Asind he left Kumari Prem with her maternal uncle. On the same day at about 4 00 P.M. he presented a written report Ex. P. 11 to the Station House Officer Police Station, Asind. In Ex. P. 11 it was mentioned that his wife Smt. Soni was missing since the evening of December 23, 1978 and her whereabouts could not be ascertained despite all afforts He requested for police help to search her out. The Station House Officer Jabbersingh (PW 13) deputed the Head Constable Abid Hussain (PW 6) and two other constables to accompany the accused to his village Berana and make efforts to search out the missing lady Smt. Soni. The Head Constable and the accused alongwith some police constables reached Berana in the evening of December 25, 1978 and stayed at the house of Mangi Lal (PW 4). It is alleged that in the morning of December 26, 1978 the accused told PW 4 Mangi Lal and his brother Udai Lal (PW 1) that he had killed his wife by throttling her and that he had put her deadbody in the new room of his house. PW 1 Udai Lal and PW 4 Mangi Lal informed the Head Constable Abid Hussain (PW 6) accordingly. Thereupon PW 6 Abid Hussain asked the accused about his wife and he (accused) deposed the same facts before him also. The Head Constable Abid Hussain took PW 1 Udai Lal, PW 5 Mangi Lal and the accused to his house. The house was found locked from out-side. The accused opened the lock with the key he was having with him. The Head Constable and the party found the victims deadbody lying in the room shown by mark 2

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