2026:CGHC:13949-DB NAFR Digitally signed by BABLU B R A A B JE L N U DRA R BH AJ A E N N A D R R K A AR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR BHANARKARDate:

2026.03.25 10:18:17 +0530 CRA No. 1867 of 2022 Rajkumar @ Rajbabbar S/o Jaglal Rajwade Aged About 24 Years Caste Rajwar, R/o Patelpara, Village Basdei, Out Post Basdei, P.S. And District Surajpur Chhattisgarh ... Appellant versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through Out Post Basdei, P.S. Surajpur, District Surajpur Chhattisgarh ... Respondent For Appellant : Mr.Pushkar Sinha, Advocate For Respondent : Mr.S.S.Baghel, Government Advocate Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Hon'ble Shri Ravindra Kumar Agrawal , Judge Judgment on Board Per Ramesh Sinha , Chief Justice

24/03/2026

1. This criminal appeal under Section 374(2) of the CrPC is directed against the impugned judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 28.05.2022 passed by the Sessions Judge, Surajpur, District Surajpur in Sessions Case No.42/2019, by which the appellant herein has been convicted for offence under Section 302 of the IPC and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and fine of Rs.500/-, in default of payment of fine, to further undergo RI for one month.

2. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that deceased Jugmen used to have frequent disputes with her husband, the accused Rajkumar @ Raj Babbar, on account of her suspicion that he was involved with another woman. On 15.06.2019, between approximately 11:00 AM and 12:00 noon, the appellant and the deceased were alone in their house. The deceased had prepared food, but it was allegedly not properly cooked, which led the accused to scold her. This resulted in an argument during which the deceased allegedly used abusive language and accused the accused of having an illicit relationship with another woman. The situation escalated into a physical altercation. According to the prosecution, during this incident, the accused used a scarf (dupatta) available in the house to strangulate the deceased, causing her death. Thereafter, it is alleged that the appellant attempted to hang the body using the same scarf from a beam in the house. However, the scarf broke, causing the body to fall to the ground, during which the head of the deceased struck a nearby stove, resulting in bleeding.

3. It is further alleged that the accused, after the incident, threw the scarf aside, locked the house from outside, and left with the key. He then went to his cousin Manoj Rajwade’s house in Manendragarh and informed him about the incident. Manoj, in turn, informed his aunt Urmila Rajwade, who lived near the accused’s house, and asked her to inform the family members and neighbors. Subsequently, information was passed to the accused’s father Jaylal. Thereafter, Jaylal and his wife, along with the village Kotwar, reported the matter at Police Outpost Basdei. A marg (inquest) was registered, and the locked house was opened in the presence of witnesses. The body of the deceased was found inside, and necessary inquest proceedings were carried out. The body was sent for postmortem examination to the District Hospital, Surajpur, where Dr.Deepak Jaiswal (PW-13) conducted postmortem over the body of the deceased and found following symptoms:-

“i. Rigor mortis present all over body, all limbane extended & supine in position.

ii. Tongue protruded out between jaw.

iii. Eye open.

iv. Blackish colour on facial skin.

v. Blebs on chest & abdomen.

vi. Throttling mark illdefined due to putrification of the body.”

The doctor has opined that cause of death was asphyxia due to throttling (assault) and nature of death was homicidal.

4. On the basis of the investigation, an offence bearing Crime No.

207/2019 was registered at Police Station Surajpur under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. During investigation, the appellant was taken into custody and his memorandum statement was recorded. Based on his statement, the scarf allegedly used in the incident and the key of the lock were seized. A site map of th