The prosecution failed to establish homicidal death beyond reasonable doubt, rendering the convictions unsustainable.

JUDGMENT :

G. Satapathy, J.

1. Since these two appeals arise out of one and same case record, the same are heard together and disposed of by this common order with the consent of the learned counsel for the parties.

2. The appellants having been convicted and sentenced by the learned Sessions Judge, Sundargarh in ST Case No.88 of 2015 have preferred these two appeals. The learned Sessions Judge by the impugned judgment passed on 16.08.2016 convicted the appellant Biju @ Bijaya Lakra for offences punishable U/Ss.302/201/34 of Indian Penal Code (in short the “ IPC ”) and the appellant Parshu @ Parshram Lakra @ Parsuram Lakra for the offences U/Ss.201/34 of and accordingly, on 17.08.2016 sentenced, the appellant Biju @ Bijaya Lakra to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.10,000/-, in default whereof, to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) for two years more for offence U/S.302 of and both the appellants to undergo RI for three years and to pay a fine of Rs.10,000/-, in default whereof, to undergo further RI for six months for offence U/Ss. 201/34 of with stipulation of sentences to run concurrently with setting-off the pretrial detention of each of the convicts against their substantive sentences.

An overview of prosecution case:

3. The convict Biju @ Bijaya Lakra of village Laing had married to the deceased Basanti Lakra around 15 years before and soon after the marriage, the convict Biju @ Bijaya Lakra was regularly torturing the deceased physically as well as mentally. On 29.03.2015 in the morning, the convict Biju @ Bijaya Lakra informed the younger brother of the deceased- Kunu Majhi (PW1) by saying the deceased to have committed suicide by hanging herself. On receipt of this information, PW1 and others rushed to the house of convict Biju @ Bijaya Lakra and found there the deceased lying dead with blood stain on her neck. On ascertaining the deceased to have been killed by the convict Biju @ Bijaya Lakra in the previous night on 28.03.2015 by assaulting her in abbreviated condition and finding the dead body to have hurriedly cremated by both the convicts-appellants and others burning the dead body, which is not the custom of their community, since the dead body in their community is being buried after death, on 31.03.2015 at about 8AM PW1 lodged the FIR (Ext.1) against Biju @ Bijaya Lakra and others before IIC, Rajgangpur Police Station, who registered P.S. Case No.59 of 2015 for commission of offences punishable U/Ss.302/201/34 of IPC and entrusted the investigation to SI of Police- PW13 Pragyan Pritam Jena, who in the course of investigation, examined the informant and witnesses, recovered and seized some incriminating materials including material pursuant to the disclosure statement of the convict Biju @ Bijaya Lakra and ultimately, on completion of investigation, submitted charge-sheet against the convicts for offence U/Ss.302/201/34 of under which cognizance was taken upon finding sufficient materials and both the convicts were sent up for trial after they did not plead guilty to the charge for the aforesaid offences.

4. In support of the charge, the prosecution examined PWs.1 to 14 and relied upon documents under Exts.1 to 15 as against no evidence whatsoever by the defence. Of the prosecution witnesses examined in this case, PW1 is the informant-cum- brother of the deceased, so also PWs.2, 3 (cousin) and 11 (cousin); PW4 is the co-villager-cum-scribe of the FIR; PWs.5, 7 and 8 are the co-villagers-cum-post occurrence witnesses; PW6 is the paternal uncle of the deceased; PW9, 10, 12 and 14 are the seizure witnesses and PW13 is the IO.

5. The plea of the appellants-convicts in th