11/06/2025

1. Heard

2. This criminal appeal filed by the appellant/accused under Section 374 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, ‘ Cr.P.C .’) is directed against the impugned judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 23.03.2021 passed by the learned First Additional Session Judge, Bilaspur, C.G. in Special Sessions Trial No. 118/ 2019, whereby the appellant/accused has been convicted for the offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code ( IPC ) for committing murder of deceased Basani Jaral (wife of the accused) and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and fine of Rs.500/-, in default of payment of fine, additional RI for 01 year.

3. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that in the intervening night of 12/13.05.2019, when the accused told his neighbours that his wife is dead, come and see, the neighbours of the accused namely Gudu alias Gurumurthy (PW-1), Gaukaran Vastrakar (PW-2), Smt. Namita Patro (PW-3), Smt. Vibha Thapa (PW-4), Smt. Chandamal (PW-5) and Luv Kumar Thakur (PW-10) went to the house of the accused between 12:00 and 01:00 in the night and saw that the body of the wife of the accused Basanti Bai was lying on