Circumstantial evidence must establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt, with no other reasonable explanation available for the crime, affirming conviction for murder under Section 302 of IPC.

Judgment :

By the Bench: The appellant Byasa Chhatabarah faced trial in the Court of learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Bolangir in Sessions Case No.19/14 of 2009 for commission of offence punishable under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter the ‘I.P.C.’) on the accusation that on 9^th September, 2008 at about 9.00 p.m. at village Kuthurla under Tusura police station, he committed murder of his wife Banita Chhatabarah (hereinafter ‘the deceased’).

The learned trial Court vide impugned judgment and order dated 31.05.2010 found the appellant guilty of the offence charged and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.25,000/-(rupees two five thousand), in default, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of two years.

Prosecution Case

2. The prosecution case, as per the first information report (Ext.1) (hereinafter ‘F.I.R.’) lodged by Chandrabhanu Majhi (P.W.4) before Mr. Kanhu Charan Tripathy (P.W.9), A.S.I., Deogan Outpost on 09.09.2008, in short, is that the deceased was the sister of the informant and she married to the appellant fifteen years prior to the date of occurrence. The appellant was doing nothing, was an unemployed person. He sold his landed properties and came to stay in the parental house of the deceased one year prior to the occurrence and stayed with the family members of the deceased. While staying in the house of the deceased, as the appellant did not have interest to get himself engaged in any job in spite of persuasion of the deceased, there used to ensue quarrel between the appellant and the deceased.

It is the further case of the prosecution that on 09.09.2008 in the night at about 9.00 p.m., when P.W.4 returned to his home from the embankment, the informant heard the outcry of the deceased. He along with his elder brother Mousodhi Majhi (P.W.2) and Lalu Majhi rushed to the room where the deceased was staying with the appellant and found the door of the room locked from inside. Even though they knocked at the door, nobody opened the same for which the door was broken open with the help of a crowbar and as the room was dark, using torch light, they found the deceased was lying on the ground with bleeding injury and the appellant was present inside the room and was standing by holding a blood stained tangia (M.O.I). Seeing the ghastly crime, the informant (P.W.4) and others shouted for which the villagers congregated there. After much persuasion, the appellant came out of the room with the tangia (M.O.I) and thereafter, the villagers took him in captivity. After entering the room, it was found that the deceased had injuries on her face, neck, arms and other parts of her body and was lying unconscious with profuse bleeding. It is further stated in the F.I.R. that with the help of the husband of the Sarpanch of the village, the deceased was taken for treatment to Bolangir Hospital in a vehicle but on the way, she expired. Accordingly, the F.I.R. was lodged by P.W.4 before Deogaon Outpost. On receipt of the same, P.W.9 having found a cognizable case revealed from the report, made a station diary entry and sent the same to Tusura P.S. for registration. As per the telephonic instruction given by the O.I.C. of Tusura police station, P.W.9 examined the informant so also the scribe of the F.I.R. and left for village Kuthurla to the house of the deceased and handed over the charge of investigation to S.I. Subash Chandra Bhoi (P.W.11).

In the absence of O.I.C., Tusura police station, Mr. Subash Chandra Bhoi (P.W.11), S.I. of Tusura police station after receipt of the report, registered the case as Tusura P.S. Case No.163 dated 10.09.2008 under section 3