The court's decision highlights the importance of circumstantial evidence in establishing guilt in criminal cases, particularly when there are no eyewitnesses. The court also emphasized the need for strict punishment for heinous crimes committed with premeditation and deceit.

MISRA, J.

( 1 ) THE appellant has been convicted under Section 302, I. P. C. and sentenced to imprisonment for life. She was also convicted under Section 392 read with Section 397, Indian Penal Code, but no separate sentence was passed.

( 2 ) THE prosecution case may be stated in short. Basanti, the deceased, was married to Baruna Giri of village Mangalpur in her child-hood. After she attained puberty, her husband wanted to marry an educated girl and refused to accept her. A punchayati held over the matter produced no effect on the husband and his father. The deceased was, however, very anxious to join her husband. The accused is a resident of Keonjhar town. On 20-7-63 she went to the house of jogeswar Baidya (P. W. 17) the brother of Daina (P. W. 6 ). She stayed there for two days and came to the house of P. W. 6 who is the aunt of the deceased, on 1-863. She falsely introduced herself as the Fulla (god-friend) of P. W, 6. Daina could not recognise her. The accused created confidence in P. W. 6 by giving out the name of her brother (P. W. 17 ). P. W. 6 and the parents of Basant have one common compound. During her stay with P. W. 6, the accused had secret conversation with the deceased which they stopped when others intervened. The accused created confidence in Basanti that she would give charm and medicine to attract her husband. On 3-8-63 the accused and the deceased went to the adjacent jungle and the accused gave a small piece of root of some tree to be kept inside her lock of hairs. She promised to give the final medicine on 4-8-63. That day the accused told the deceased that the final medicine could not be procured as there was disturbance in the jungle. In the morning of 5-8-63 the accused and the deceased were closeted together in the house. Sometimes after Basanti left for village well with two pitchers to fetch water. A little later the accused followed her. There was delay in Basanti's return. Her mother went out to call her. As she could not trace her out she reported the fact to her husband. Both the father and the mother started in search of their daughter. While they were proceeding towards village Kanchanpur, the father's place of Basanti's mother, expecting that the deceased might have gone there, a cowherd boy PW 16 intimated them that he saw Basanti entering into the jungle. The parents made a search and found basanti lying unconscious in the jungle with bleeding injuries. The ornaments which she had on her body at the time she left the house had also been removed. She was removed to the hospital where she died on 6-8-1963 at about noon. Basanti's father (P. W. 1) lodged the F. I. R. (Ex. 10) at about 3 p. m. in Champua police station. After the deceased was traced out in the jungle, Basanti's grandmother disclosed that the deceased had told her that she had accompanied the accused to the jungle and that she was to get a filial medicine on the date of occurrence. The accused gave recovery of the ornaments.

( 3 ) IN her statement under Section 342, Cr. P. C. the accused admits that she stayed in the house of P. W. 6 from 1-8-63 till the date of occurrence. She claims the ornaments as her own and states that when the police caught hold of her lock of hairs, the ornaments kept tied up in a piece of cloth fell down and that she so concealed the ornaments when she returned from Tatanagar to avoid those being noticed by others. She denies to have gone to the jungle or to have murdered basanti and asserts that she never went outside the house of P. W. 6 but was attending her ailing child inside the house. She denies to have any talk with basanti during her stay there.

( 4 ) THE doctor (P. W. 7) held the post-mortem examination on 6-8-63 at 5 p. m. and found the following injuries : 1. One lacerated wound on the left parietal region measuring 2" X 1/2" X 1/4", 2" lateral to the mid line. 2. Swelling, inflamation and black mark about 6" in circumference around the left ear, 3. One lacerated wound on the tip of t