IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH AT JABALPUR BEFORE HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE VISHAL DHAGAT &

HON'BLE SMT. JUSTICE ANURADHA SHUKLA

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ON THE 9 OF DECEMBER, 2025 CRIMINAL APPEAL No. 7300 of 2021 SUKHBHAN SINGH GOND Versus THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH Appearance:

Shri Ram Prakash Yadav - Advocate for the appellant.

Shri Pramod Pandey - Government Advocate for the State.

JUDGMENT Per: Justice Smt. Anuradha Shukla The judgment under challenge was passed on 24.11.2021 by the Sessions Judge, Singrauli, headquarter Baidhan, deciding Sessions Trial No.09/2019 in which the appellant (hereinafter referred to as "accused") was held guilty of offence of Section 302 IPC and was sentenced to life imprisonment and fine amount of Rs.5,000/- with a clause to undergo three months rigorous imprisonment in case of non-payment of fine amount.

2. The facts which are not in dispute are that witnesses Raj Lochan (P.W.1), Phoolmati (P.W.2) and Punjab Singh (P.W.3) have acquaintance with the accused and that the accused was arrested on 21.11.2018 vide Ex.P13.

3. Relevant facts of prosecution case in brief are that there was a long drawn property dispute between accused Sukhbhan Singh Gond and deceased Thakurdeen Singh with a verbal showdown in preceding rains; on 18.11.2018, accused Sukhbhan Singh Gond came to the house of Thakurdeen Singh at around 3:00 p.m. and again at around 7:00 p.m.; this time he insisted that Thakurdeen Singh should accompany him on his motorcycle; on this insistence Thakurdeen left the house with him but never returned; he was searched around by family members when he did not return till late night but could not be traced; on 19.11.2018 at around 7.00 a.m. his dead body was found near Bajauri Road covered with a bed sheet; he had severe injuries on face; suspecting that he was murdered by accused Sukhbhan Singh Gond, intimation was given to the police upon which Dehati Marg intimation and Dehati Nalishi were written and FIR was lodged; at the behest of accused Sukhbhan Singh Gond, a heavy piece of stone, a motorcycle and blood-stained clothes were recovered; the rest of the investigation was undertaken. After filing of charge-sheet, trial was initiated and upon its conclusion accused was convicted and sentenced as aforesaid.

4. Being aggrieved by the impugned judgment, the accused in this appeal has raised the grounds that he was falsely implicated in the case and only on the basis of suspicion and in complete dearth of evidence, cryptic judgment of conviction was passed ignoring innumerable omissions, contradictions and improvements in the statements of prosecution witnesses. Further, there was no direct evidence to connect the accused with the crime and even a prima facie case was not made out against him, still he was convicted by giving a judgment rested on improper reasoning and defective appreciation of evidence. A request was, therefore, made to allow the appeal and acquit the accused.

5. State has opposed the appeal claiming that impugned judgment warrants no interference and though the case was based upon circumstantial evidence, the prosecution was still able to establish every link of the chain of evidence, connecting the accused with the crime.

6. Learned counsel for the parties have been heard and record of the court below has been perused.

7. The prosecution has set up a case that on 18.11.2018 Thakurdeen Singh left his house in the company of accused Sukhbhan Singh Gond at around 7:00 p.m. and his dead body was found by the side of Bajauri Road at around 7:00 in the morning of 19.11.2018. According to Assistant Sub-Inspector Shivpooran Mishra (P.W.9), he received intimation about recovery of dead body upon which he reached the spot at around 11:00 a.m. and recorded Dehati Marg intimation as well as Dehati Nalishi. These two documents are Exs.P1 and P2 and they were prepared on the basis of information given by Raj Lochan Singh (P.W.1) who happens to be the son of deceased Thakurdeen Singh. It is interesting that Assistant sub-