The prosecution must establish each link of the chain of circumstances beyond reasonable doubt in a case based on circumstantial evidence.

JUDGMENT :

S. MURALIDHAR, J.

1. These are two appeals challenging the same judgment of the trial Court and are accordingly being disposed of by this common judgment. Both these appeals are directed against the Judgment of conviction and sentence dated 8th June 2006, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Bhanjanagar in S.C. No.28 of 2001 (S.C. 205/2001- GDC), convicting the Appellants for the offence punishable under Section 302 read with 34 of IPC and sentencing each of them to undergo imprisonment for life and pay a fine of Rs.2,000/- and in default to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year.

2. The Appellant in JCRLA No.77 of 2006 was enlarged on bail by the order dated 27th April, 2009 of this Court. As far as the three Appellants in CRLA No.432 of 2006 are concerned, while Appellant Nos.2 & 3 were released on bail by the order dated 3rd December 2009, Appellant No.1 was released on bail by order dated 10th December, 2009.

3. This Court has heard the submissions of Mr. Gautam Misra, learned Senior Counsel appearing for the Appellant in CRLA No.432 of 2006 and Mr. Pulakesh Mohanty, learned counsel appearing for the Appellants in JCRLA No.77 of 2006. In both the appeals, Mr. Ishwar Mohanty, learned Additional Standing Counsel (ASC) appeared for the State.

Case of the prosecution

4. The case of the prosecution was that one E. Mohan Rao Patra (PW-1) lodged an FIR at the Surada Police Station in the District of Ganjam on 13th September, 2000 that on the same day at around 10 am his son E. Krishna Rao Patro (deceased) and a covillager, Ladu Dala Behera (also deceased) went to the village Daringibari in a Hero Honda Motorcycle for collecting money in connection with their business. At around 3pm, PW-1 heard about two dead bodies lying at Baimala Ghat No.1, which is around 3 kms away from village Gajalabadi. E. Bijay Kumar Patra (PW-2), the younger son of PW-1, and S. Sarat Chandra Prusty (PW-3) along with two others went to the spot by motor cycles and found the two dead bodies lying on the road. They found the dead body of Krishna Rao Patro with cut injuries in the neck, left arm and the right side waist. As far as Ladu Dala Behera is concerned, the body had been split into different parts by cutting.

5. The case of the prosecution as spoken by Upendra Sahoo (PW- 25), the Investigating Officer (IO) was that after reaching the spot, he re-examined the complainant and the aforementioned four witnesses and then contacted ‘sources’. According to him, he ‘ascertained from my sources that the accused persons are six in number within the age group of 20 to 30 who got down from bus near the spot at Ramanabadi chhak and all of them were wearing full pant and shirts, wearing boot sandle etc.’

Investigation

6. What happened thereafter was also supposed to have been based on the contact of the IO with his ‘sources’, and his making ‘secret enquiries’ which revealed the ill-feelings of the accused persons with the deceased; about the business rivalry between the deceased Krishna Rao Patro with one Krishore Prusty son of late Gangadhar Prusty of village Asurabandho relating to rice business. On 14th September, 2000 at 1.15 am, PW-25 left for Asurabandho and at 2.30 am, he left Asurabandho for Sorada. At Sorada near the Block office at Kaithapalli Sahi he could trace the bus in which the accused traveled. He is stated to have examined the conductor Swaraj Rout (PW-13), the helper Kanhu Nayak (PW-4) and the driver Pradip Kumar Sing (not examined as a witness) and recorded their statements.

7. According to PW-25, after recording the statements of the above three persons, he could ascertain that the six accused boarded the bus from Govindapur, got down at Ramanabadi chhak on 13th September, 2000.

8. The IO then stated that during the investigation, he examined one Durjodhan Bisoi (examined as Defence Witness) (DW-1) and T. Maheswari Reddy (PW-21) of village Masiakhali and Ambapua who were proceeding towards Daringibadi side i