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1959 Supreme(MP) 111
High Court Of Madhya Pradesh
V. R. Newaskar and Shiv Dayal Shrivastava, JJ.
STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH - Appellant
Versus
KALU KACHRU KEER - Respondents
Criminal Appeal 37 Of 1959
Decided On : 04/14/1959
Important Points
Subject
Criminal Law - Murder
Act Referred
EVIDENCE ACT : S.145
Headnote
CRIMINAL LAW - MURDER - CONVICTION - EVIDENCE - EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNT - CONTRADICTION - OMISSION - SECTION 145 OF THE EVIDENCE ACT - SECTION 162 OF THE CR. P. C. - CORROBORATIVE CIRCUMSTANCES - MOTIVE - RECOVERY OF WEAPON - CONDUCT OF THE ACCUSED - SENTENCE - DEATH SENTENCE - COMMUTATION TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT.
Fact of the Case:
Accused Kalu was convicted under Section 302 of the I. P. C. for murdering Ratan-singh. The deceased and the accused had a dispute over a window in a lane between their houses, which was decided in favor of the deceased. The accused was seen running away from the scene of the crime by an eye-witness, Sajanbai, who was the deceased's sister. A sword was recovered from the bushes near the house of the accused's relation.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the eye-witness account of Sajanbai was reliable and corroborated by other evidence, including the recovery of the sword, the accused's disappearance from the village, and his conduct after the incident. The court also found that there was sufficient motive for the accused to commit the crime.
Issues: 1. Whether the eye-witness account of Sajanbai was reliable and corroborated by other evidence. 2. Whether there was sufficient motive for the accused to commit the crime. 3. Whether the sentence of death was appropriate.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The court held that the eye-witness account of Sajanbai was reliable and corroborated by other evidence, including the recovery of the sword, the accused's disappearance from the village, and his conduct after the incident. The court found that the omissions in Sajanbai's police statement did not amount to contradictions, as they were not on vital points and were not proved through the police officer who recorded her statement. 2. The court found that there was sufficient motive for the accused to commit the crime, as he had a dispute with the deceased over a window in a lane between their houses, which was decided in favor of the deceased. 3. The court held that the sentence of death was not appropriate in this case, as the accused was a young man who had acted out of thoughtlessness and frustration. The court commuted the sentence to life imprisonment.
Final Decision: The appeal was dismissed except as regards the sentence in respect of the offence under Section 302. I. P. C. The sentence of death imposed by the learned Sessions Judge for that offence was set aside and the appellant was sentenced to undergo life imprisonment instead.
D.P.BHARGAVA, P.R.SHARMA
( 1 ) ACCUSED Kalu son of Kachru Keer of Metwas was convicted by the Sessions judge Ujjain under Section 302 of the I. P. C. and was sentenced to death. The accused has preferred appeal against his con-viction. The proceedings for confirmation of the sentence of death have also been placed before us for consideration. Both the appeal as well as the proceedings for confirmation of the death sentence are being considered together and disposed of by this judgment.
( 2 ) THE facts of the case as alleged by the prosecution may be briefly stated as under: the houses of the accused and deceased Ratan-singh were close to each other with an intervening lane belonging to Ratansingh. The accused Kalu lived in his house along with his two brothers and mother gangabai. The brothers opened a window in their wall on the side of ratansingh's lane. Ratansingh objected to this and later filed a suit for mandatory injunction for securing closure of the window. This suit succeeded and a decree for injunction as prayed for was granted on 1010-1958.
( 3 ) RATANSINGH during the pendenay of the suit or even before had agreed to sell his house to Rajaram and had delivered possession of his house to him but no registered deed of sale had been executed and the legal title continued to rest with ratansingh. After delivery of possession of his house to Rajaram, Ratansingh along with his wife Pyaribai went to reside with his sister Sajanbai who had her house just in front of these two houses. This house had a main door opening into the road which used to be lightened by electric light during the night. Inside Sajanbai's house was an Osari and just behind the Osari was a room and just behind the room there is another room. The wall into which the main door of sajanbai's house opened was not too high and could be scaled over. On the night inter- vening 11th and 12th of October 1958 Ratansingh returned from the Mills at nagda where he was working as a labourer at 11 P. M. He then slept in the Osari. His wife had slept in the adjoining room and Sajanbai hud slept at the door of the third apartment just in front of the main door. ( 4 ) SOME time after the midnight the accused Kalu secured the entry into the house by scaling the wall of the main door as that door had been latched from inside. He carried with him a sword then. He went to the Osari where Ralansingh was sleeping and gave him blows with the weapon earned by him. While giving one of the blows the weapon struck tho root of the Osari causing noise. This awakened sajanbai. She saw the accused standing near the bed of Ratansingh in the light of a lamp burning nearby. She cried out. The accused thereupon hurried out after opening the main door. Sajanbai got up and closely followed him. She found her brother injured and bleeding She came to the door and raised cries naming the accused Kalu as the assailant who had killed her brother Ratansingh. She also again identified the accused while he was escaping in the electric light irom the electric poles on the road. Pyaribai also woke up and saw somebody running but as she was some what late in getting up she could not identify the absconder. Sajanbai's cries brought a neighbour Madhosingh on the spot. To him she told the name of Kalu as the assailant. Another person in the locality Motiram also woke up on hearing Sajanbai's cries. He also went to the spot and found ratansingh lying injured on his cot.
( 5 ) THE first information report was lodged at the Police station Nagda at 2-30 A. M. the same night by Madhosingh, who along with several other persons of the village including Laxmikant, Motiram, Dewa, Lalsingh had taken the injured Ratansingh to the police station on a cot. The police sent him to the hospital for treatment. He however died in the hospital on 12-10-1958 at 8 A. M. Head Constable bhagwatsingh went to the spot. He commenced investigation into the matter. A stick was found on the roof of Sajanbai's house. This it was believed
