Katju, J. :- Smt. Shridevi has filed criminal appeal No. 316 of 1970 against the judgments of 2nd Addl. Sessions Judge, Agra dated 12-1-70 passed in Sessions Trial No. 110 of 1969 convicting her under Section 302, I.P.C. and sentencing her to imprisonment for life.

2. The case of the prosecution is that the appellant assaulted the deceased who was her husband at about midnight between 3/4th June, 1969 with a brick in village Suphipur inside the house of Gyasi, the uncle of the deceased which resulted in his death on the spot.

3. There are no eye-witnesses in the case. The evidence produced by the prosecution is of a circumstantial nature.

4. Ramshri (P.W. 3) deposed that the deceased Sita Ram was her cousin and lived in her father's house in village Suphipur. He had been married to the appellant about 8 or 10 years prior to the occurrence but the appellant normally lived in the house of her father even after her marriage. She used to visit her husband after long intervals and stayed with him only for a short time. About ten days before the occurrence the deceased had an attack of cholera. He, however, recovered after two or three days. The appellant came to her father's house four or five days before the occurrence. On the night of occurrence the deceased and the appellant were sleeping in the Angan of the house and she was sleeping on the Chabutra outside the house. At about midnight the appellant woke her up and told her that some thief had entered the house and removed her silver bangles. She told the appellant that she should have informed the deceased about the theft. When the appellant kept quite she went inside the house and found the deceased lying dead on his cot. She immediately raised an alarm hearing which Maharaj Singh Pradhan (P.W. 2). Ram Chandra (P.W. 5) and Smt. Vidya (P.W. 4), whose houses are hereby, reached her father's house. In the torch light flashed by Smt. Vidya blood was detected on the person of the appellant and also on her clothes. The appellant was then accused by Maharaj Singh of having committed the murder and she confessed to him that she had assaulted the deceased.

5. The first information report was scribed by Mahraj Singh (P.W. 2) in the village and was lodged by him at police station Firozabad at about 2.45 a.m. on the same night (4-6-69).

6. Sri H. P. Dhawan (P.W. 9) the Station Officer of police station Firozabad, reached the place of occurrence at about 4 in the morning on 4-6-69 found the body of the deceased lying on a cot inside the house. The appellant informed him that she had hidden the brick with which she had assaulted the deceased in an earthen Kutiya. The appellant thereafter took out the brick from the Kutiya. The appellant also told the investigating Officer that she had concealed her silver bangles in a hole and gave them to the investigating officer. The investigating officer also found blood on the finger nails of the appellant and also on her petti-coat (Ext. 4) Dhoti (Ex. 5) and blouse (Ex. 6). These garments were taken into possession by the investigation officer and the nails of the appellant were also cut and were taken into possession by him. The investigating officer also found ornaments on the person of the appellant. He took them in his possession and gave them in the supurdagi of Smt. Ramshri.

7. Dr. Chandra Sekhar Tripathi conducted the post-mortem examination and found the following injuries on the body of the deceased :

1. Abrasion 1/2" x 1/2" on the forehead just above the left eye brow.

2. Abrasion 2" x 1/2" on the left side of the face outside the left eye brow.

3. Abrasion 1" x 1/4" in the middle part of the left cheek.

4. Abrasion 1" x 1/2" on the bridge of the nose.

5. Lacerated wound 1" x 1/2" x muscle deep on the inner side of the lower lip right side.

6. Abrasion 1/2" x 1/4" on the head 2" above and behind the left eye brow

7. Lacerated wound 1/2" x 1/2" scalp deep 2-1/2" above and behind the right brow.

8. Lacerated wound 1/2" x 1/4" scalp d