The prosecution must establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt; mere suspicion or hostility of the informant undermines the conviction.

JUDGMENT :

Rongon Mukhopadhyay, J.

1. Heard Mr. Ranjan Kumar Singh, learned counsel for the appellant and Mrs. Kumari Rashmi, learned A.P.P.

2. This appeal is directed against the judgment and order of conviction and sentence dated 23-03-1999 (sentence passed on 26- 03-1999) passed by Sri Mungeshwar Sahoo, learned 1^st Additional Sessions Judge, Godda in Sessions Case No. 219 of 1998 by 153 of 1998 whereby and whereunder, the appellant has been convicted for the offence punishable under Section 302 IPC and has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life.

3. The prosecution case arises out of the fardbeyan of Fulki Devi recorded on 30.04.1996 in which it has been stated that it was around 8:00 A.M. and she had put her two-month-old sleeping child in the cot. Her husband Kailash Yadav(appellant) had asked her to bring water from the village. The informant had accordingly gone to the village and brought water and after her husband drank water, he left for the village for selling milk. It has been alleged that when the informant came near the child Chaita Yadav, she found foam coming out from the mouth of her child. The informant tried to feed milk to her child but there was no response as the child was dead. It has been alleged that the husband of the informant had administered poison on her child which led to his death. The informant was married to Kailash Yadav for 10 years and about a year back, Kailash Yadav had solemnized a second marriage after which the informant was regularly subjected to torture and assault. When a son was born to the informant, her husband used to threaten her of committing her murder as well as the murder of the infant. It was about 2-3 days since the husband of the informant had returned back from the parental house of his second wife and it was Kailash Yadav, who had administered poison upon the son of the informant.

Based on the aforesaid allegations, Meharma (Belbadda) P.S. Case No. 49 of 1996 was instituted under Section 328/302 IPC against Kailash Yadav. On completion of investigation, charge sheet was submitted and after cognizance was taken, the case was committed to the Court of Sessions where it was registered as Sessions Case No. 219 of 1998 by 153 of 98. Charge was framed against the accused under Section 302/328 IPC which was read over and explained to him, to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried.

4. The prosecution has examined as many as eight witnesses in support of its case:

P.W.1 Fulki Devi is the informant, who has not supported the case of the prosecution and has been declared hostile by the prosecution.

P.W.2 Mansi Devi alias Manti Devi has expressed her ignorance as to how Chaita Yadav had died.

P.W.3 Anjani Devi and P.W.4 Muni Yadav have not supported the case of the prosecution and were declared hostile by the prosecution.

P.W.5 Md. Anwar Khan was posted as an officer-in-charge of Belbadda P.S. and on 30.04.1996, he had come to know that Kailash Yadav had murdered his son by administering poison upon him. He proceeded on such information to village Chhoti Lakarmara and had recorded the fardbeyan of Fulki Devi. He has proved the fardbeyan which has been marked as Exhibit-1. He has proved the formal FIR and the inquest report which have been marked as Exhibit-1/1 and Exhibit-2 respectively. The dead body of Chaita Yadav was sent by him for the purposes of autopsy. He had inspected the place of occurrence which is at village Chhoti Lakarmara in the house of the informant in a cot where the dead body was found. Near the cot, at a distance of 4 feet from the dead body, a brown coloured tablet used as pesticide was seized, for which a seizure list was prepared which has been marked as Exhibit-3. He had recorded the statement of the witnesses, had obtained the post-mortem report, and on his transfer, had handed over the investigation to Birendra Prasad. He had recorded the statement of Fulki Devi, who had stated that she had gone to fetch water leaving her son Chaita