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HIGH COURT OF ORISSA
B. K. Patra And S. Acharya, JJ.
CHINTAMANI DAS - Appellant
Versus
STATE - Respondent
Criminal Appeal 96 Of 1967
Decided On : SEPTEMBER 02, 1969
CRIMINAL APPEAL - Murder - Conspiracy - Evidence - Admissibility - Deposition of deceased witness - Corroboration - Identification of accused - Circumstantial evidence - Motive - Conviction - Sentence.
Fact of the Case:
Five appellants were convicted of murder and conspiracy to murder Ramchandra Choudhury. The prosecution alleged that the appellants conspired to murder Choudhury and that they formed an unlawful assembly with the common object of committing the murder. The appellants were sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 302/149, I. P. C.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the evidence of Panchu Majhi, an eye-witness who died before he could be examined in the Court of Session, was admissible and acceptable. The court also found that the evidence of Burundi Nayak, another eye-witness, was not reliable due to his defective eyesight. The court further found that the evidence against appellants Chintamani Das, Goutam Bhuyan, and Nityananda Bag was sufficient to establish their complicity in the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. However, the court found that the evidence against appellants Bhikari Charan Bhuyan and Sanatan Bhuyan was not sufficient to establish their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Issues: 1. Whether the evidence of Panchu Majhi was admissible and acceptable. 2. Whether the evidence of Burundi Nayak was reliable. 3. Whether the evidence against appellants Chintamani Das, Goutam Bhuyan, and Nityananda Bag was sufficient to establish their complicity in the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. 4. Whether the evidence against appellants Bhikari Charan Bhuyan and Sanatan Bhuyan was sufficient to establish their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The court held that the evidence of Panchu Majhi was admissible and acceptable, even though he was not cross-examined in the committing magistrate's Court, because he had the right and opportunity to be cross-examined. 2. The court held that the evidence of Burundi Nayak was not reliable due to his defective eyesight. 3. The court held that the evidence against appellants Chintamani Das, Goutam Bhuyan, and Nityananda Bag was sufficient to establish their complicity in the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. This evidence included the testimony of Panchu Majhi, the recovery of a black shirt from Chintamani Das's possession, the recovery of a blood-stained shirt from Goutam Bhuyan's house, and the recovery of nail cuttings from Goutam Bhuyan that were found to be stained with blood. 4. The court held that the evidence against appellants Bhikari Charan Bhuyan and Sanatan Bhuyan was not sufficient to establish their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The only evidence against these appellants was the testimony of Panchu Majhi, which the court found to be insufficiently corroborated.
Final Decision: The court upheld the conviction of appellants Chintamani Das, Goutam Bhuyan, and Nityananda Bag under Section 302/149, I. P. C. and the sentence of imprisonment for life imposed upon them. The court set aside the conviction of appellants Bhikari Charan Bhuyan and Sanatan Bhuyan under Section 302/149, I, P. C. and the sentence imposed on them and directed that they be set at liberty forthwith. The conviction of all appellants under Section 120-B. L P. C. was also set aside.
PATRA, J.
( 1 ) THE five appellants along with three others who have been acquitted were placed on trial before the Sessions Judge, Balasore on charges under Sections 302/149 and 120-B, I. P. C. on the allegation that they conspired to murder one ramchandra Choudhury and that in pursuance of the said conspiracy they on the 24th November, 1965 formed an unlawful assembly with the common object of committing the aforesaid murder and did in furtherance of the common object commit murder. Eight other persons were also charged for conspiracy but they were also acquitted. Of the 16 accused thus placed on trial, the five appellants alone were found guilty on both the charges and convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for life under Section 302/149, I. P. C. No further sentence was imposed on them for their conviction under Section 120-B, I. P. C.
( 2 ) THE deceased Ramchandra Choudhury was practising as an Advocate at Nilgiri but was residing in his ancestral house in mouza Narayanpur which is at a distance of about 12 miles from Nilgiri. He used to come daily on his bicycle from his village to attend the Court at Nilgiri and return home in the evening. The appellants are all inter-related, and there is evidence to show that their relationship with the deceased was far from cordial. Many incidents have been proved to show that misunderstandings had existed between the deceased and some or all of the accused persons. Some of the appellants cultivated lands under him and it is stated that the deceased used to harass them in many waya The last of such disputes was a proceeding under Section 145, Criminal P. C. initiated by the Police at the instance of the deceased on 21-11-1965 against the appellant No. 5 nityananda Bagh. It is against this background that the occurrence in this case took place.
( 3 ) THE prosecution case !s that on 24-11-65, the deceased left his house at about 10 A. M. on a cycle (M. O. XII) for Nilgiri. The road from his village to Nilgiri passes through a jungle called Bhalukasuni jungle. When the deceased ramchandra reached that point of the road, appellant No. 1 Chintamani, Goutam (A/2) and Nityananda (A/5) suddenly appeared on the road. Nityananda assaulted the deceased on his head with a bamboo lathi and Goutam pushed his cycle to one side of the road as a result of which the deceased fell down on the ground. Thereafter Bhikari Bhuyan (A/3), Sanatan Bhuyan (A/4) and three others, namely, kangali Bhuyan, Banshi-dhar Bhuyan and Narayan Bhuyan, since acquitted dragged the deceased into the said jungle and threw him in a Nala where appellant Goutam Bhuyan, Bhikari Bhuyan, Nityananda Bag and Bansidhar Bhuyan crushed the head of the deceased with boulders resulting in his instantaneous death. P. W. 13 Narendra Nayak who shortly afterwards was coming from naranpur towards Balasore found the cycle (M. O. XII), hat (M. O. XIV) and handkerchief (M. O. XIII) belonging to the deceased lying by the side of Naranpur-Bhalukasuni road. He informed about it to P. W. 7 Pratap Chandra Behera and pratap accompanied by Kailas Chandra Panda went to the spot and having found the said articles went to Nilgiri and reported about the missing of the deceased at the P. S. On the basis of this information a Station Disry entry was made by the police. P. W. 6 Surendranath Behera, who is the brother-in-law of the deceased on coming to know that the cycle, hat etc. , of the deceased were found lying on the road went to the spot and discovered the dead body inside the Nala, and lodged F. I. R. (Ext. 2) at the Police Station at about noon that day. The police proceeded to the spot, held the inquest, sent the dead body for post-mortem examination and seized the cycle, hat and the handkerchief and also three pairs of slippers (M. Os. III, IV and V) which were lying on the road at the spot. In the course of investigation, the houses of some of the accused persons were searched and certain articles which were found to be blood stained were seiz
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