S.S. BYAS, J.—By his judgment dated January 19, 1987 the learned Sessions Judge, Pratapgarh convicted the accused Umaidsingh under section 302, I.P.C. and sentenced him to death. He further convicted the accused under section 301, I.P.C, but awarded no separate sentence. The Sessions Judge has submitted the proceedings under section 366, Cr.P.C. for the confirmation of the death sentence. As usual, the accused challenges his conviction and has filed two appeals one through Jail and the other represented, for that purpose. We have, thus, two matters before us., viz.(l) reference made by the Sessions Judge and (2) the appeals of the accused.

2. The blame-load on the accused is that he wiped off his wife, who was in her middle twenties son (aged about four years) and daughter (hardly four months of age). The motive alleged is that the wife had brought insufficient dowry and the accused had developed illicit intimacy with some other woman.

3. Put briefly, the prosecution case runs as under:-

4. Accused Umaidsingh, aged about 30 years, was married to Smt. Maanu Bai somewhere seven/eight years before 1984. The marriage was solemnized in village Damodhar, where her parents resided. After marriage, she came to live with the accused in village Bagrera P.S. Nimbahera district Chittorgarh. At the time of the solemnization of the marriage, the accuseds father, grand-father and uncle made a demand of five Tolas of gold and the bus-fare. When Smt. Maanu Bai returned to her parents house on the occasion of her first delivery, she told them that she was ill-treated in the family of her in-laws as five Tolas of gold was not given. However, the marriage continued and Smt. Maanu Bai gave birth to three children one son and two daughters. The accused used to operate a flour-mill in his village. It is suggested that he developed illicit intimacy with PW 12 Smt. Manjula Devi when she was living in village Bagrera with her husband, who was a teacher there in the government school. The accused was displeased with his wife as she has not brought five Tolas of gold and she was an obstacle in his affairs with - Smt. Manjula Devi.

5. Somewhere in July 1983, he purchased Parthian (rat poison) from a shop-keeper in village Nimbahera. He, thereafter, purchased sweets from some shop. He mingled Parthian with the sweets and administered the mixture to his wife Smt. Maanu Bai, son Vikram and daughter Seema in the intervening night of July 24 and 25, 1983. As a result they became unconscious. The accused and the members of his family spread a false story that the three were beaten by the snake. Message was conveyed on telephone to the wifes brother Surendra Kumar (PW 1), who was then residing in Nimach, by the accuseds relative that the condition of Smt. Maanu Bai was serious. Accordingly, PW 1 Surendra Kumar, his wife Smt. Sampat Bai (PW 6), his cousin Ramesh Chandra (PW 6) and his wife Smt. Saroj Bai (PW 9) came to village Bagera at about 8.00 a.m. They found the three victims lying dead in a room. Surendra Kumar asked the accused as to what had happened. The accused told that it was a case of snake bite. Surendra Kumar and others were not satisfied with this explanation of the accused and a doctor was sent for from Nimbahera. Dr. R.K. Gupta (P W 7) arrived there in the noon and examined the dead bodies. Dr. Gupta told Surendra Kumar and all others, who were present there, that the death had not taken place on account of snake bite. The doctor went to Nimbahera and informed the police. Surendra Kumar and others insisted upon the post-mortem examination of the dead bodies, but the accused and the members of his family refused to do so. It was raining on that day and the three dead bodies were taken to the cremation ground. The cremation was performed hurriedly and the dead-bodies were cremated by pouring 35/40 litres of kerosene oil in the burning pyre. Surendra Kumar, his wife, cousin and cousins wife returned to Nimach. Though doctor Gupta had informed the Polic

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