A conviction must be supported by credible evidence and established beyond a reasonable doubt; mere suspicion is insufficient for a conviction.

JUDGMENT :

D.Dash, J.

The Appellant by filing this Appeal, from inside the jail, has called in question the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 11.04.2017 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Mayurbhanj- Baripada in S.T. Case No.192 of 2013 arising out of G.R. Case No.111 of 2013 (C.T. No.913 of 2012) of the Court of learned S.D.J.M., Udala.

The Appellant(accused) has been convicted for commission of offence under section-302/201 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short ‘the IPC ’) and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay fine of Rs.10,000/- in default to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six(6) months for offence under section-302 of the . He too has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and pay fine of Rs.2,000/- with the default stipulation to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for (1)one month for committing the offence of causing disappearance of evidence in order to screen himself from legal punishment for such murder punishable under section-201 of the .

2. The prosecution case is that on 03.09.2012, Ajit Kumar Behera (P.W.13) of village Kanheibandh under Khunta Police Station in the district of Mayurbhanj receiving an information about floating of a dead body near the bridge of a rivulet locally named and called ‘Nalhua Nala’ went there and found the information to be correct, when he saw the dead body of a female, aged around 35 years was floating over the water in that rivulet. He then reported the matter in writing to the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of Khunta Police Station (P.W.11). Basing upon the said report(Ext.5), OIC registered as Khunta P.S. U.D. Case No.20 dated 03.09.2012 and took up inquiry.

It is stated that in course of inquiry, he identified the dead body to be of one Basi Murmu, daughter of Chhuta Majhi @ Hembram (P.W.3). He came to ascertain that the said deceased had married one Thala Murmu of village Patsanipur under Udala Police Station, 12 years before. She was blessed with a son aged about 7 years and in the year 2007 on the death of her husband; she went to her maternal uncle’s house at village Biprachandrapur under Khunta Police Station. While staying there, love affairs developed with the accused namely, Sankar@Jhangala Murmu, who happens to be her maternal uncle. When such relationship was objected to by the villagers including the family members, the deceased was driven out of the house. She went to her cousin sister’s house at village Gududi and stayed there. Despite her living, accused continued to keep the relationship with her. The deceased then insisted the accused to marry her, which proposal was not accepted by the accused citing the reason that he had his legally married wife. It is stated that in view the pressure from the side of the deceased, accused-Sankar@Jhangala Murmu had in mind to somehow eliminate her to get rid of the situation.

On 02.09.2012, accused-Sankar@Jhangala Murmu insisted the deceased to go to Bhubaneswar so that there they would freely stay together as husband and wife. The deceased then agreed to the proposal. On the very night, they both left the village to proceed to Bhubaneswar. On their way after arrival at Nalhua bridge, when it was around 11 pm, the accused cut the throat of the deceased by a sharp cutting weapon. The accused having thus beheaded the deceased then threw both body as well as the head into the rivulet (Nalhua Nala) and returned to his village.

The above report in the U.D. Case then came to be registered as Khunta P.S. Case No.26 of 2013 by that OIC and he took up investigation. The U.D. Case having been registered on 03.09.2012, the regular police station case showi