S.K. SETH, J.

1. The death reference and connected appeal No. 742/2017 arise out of the Judgment of conviction and order of capital sentence handed down by the First Additional Sessions Judge, Sidhi holding the appellant guilty of the charges levelled against him in the trial.

2. As per prosecution case, in the night intervening 13th September and 14th September 2013, appellant along with Nitesh @ Bhola (a juvenile separately dealt with by the Juvenile Board) committed house trespass and sexually assaulted Sushma, a young married woman (since deceased), and then turn by turn ravished her and when she resisted she was done to death by hitting her fore-head with bamboo staff. Thereafter, not satisfied with rape, dead body was subjected to offence punishable under Section 377 of IPC by appellant Nagendra and the dead body was dragged to nearby pit or trench in order to conceal the crime and some jewellery articles of insignificant values were stolen.

3. At the time of the incident, deceased was all alone in her abode in small hamlet 'Bhitri' situated within Police Station Rampur Naikin in District Sidhi. Shrinivas(PW4), her husband, a truck driver by profession, received inform