JUDGMENT

Reserved on: 01.10.2024 Pronounced On: 16.10.2024 Per Gautam Kumar Choudhary, J. Sole appellant is before this Court in appeal against the judgment of conviction and sentence under Sections 302, 201 of the IPC and Section 3/4 Witch (Daain) Practices Act, 1999.

2. Informant is the son of the deceased Dayamani Devi. As per FIR, the informant who was student of Class IX, had gone to take part in flag hoisting ceremony on the eve of Independence Day. His elder sister Kalawati Devi was married and living in her matrimonial home in another village, whereas his younger sister had also gone to meet her. Father of the informant was a farmer and had left his home in the morning for grazing the cattle and his mother was all alone in the house. At around 1.30 in the day time, when the informant returned home, he did not find his mother and therefore, went behind his house looking for her. He found his mother dead, lying in a pool of blood and her neck had been partially severed and there was also marks of bleeding injury over her left hand. On alarm being raised, people gathered there. Father of the informant had not returned and the informant and villagers went in search for him in the