JUDGMENT

Sanjib Banerjee, CJ. - The appellant has been convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and sentenced to life imprisonment. The appellant has also been fined Rs. 50,000/- for the commission of the offence.

2. The principal ground urged on behalf of the appellant in questioning the propriety of the judgment of conviction of January 14, 2021 is that only the relatives of the victim came forward to complain or testify against the appellant, though the incident, which is said to have taken place on December 28, 2013 at about 11 pm, was in course of a village function on the premises of the Catholic Church at Mawkohram village when the entirety of the village had congregated to witness a post-Christmas theatre performance.

3. It is also submitted on behalf of the appellant that there are several other discrepancies, including the alleged murder weapon not showing any sign of blood in course of its forensic examination, several of the witnesses trying to embellish their original statements and the contradictions between the oral evidence of several of the prosecution witnesses. In particular, it is submitted on behalf of the appellant that a key witness who is supp