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CRIMINAL APPEAL No.469 OF 2006(D.B.)

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1. NAGESHWAR SINGH @ PRATAP NARAIN SINGH

2. MALTI DEVI ------------(Appellants)

Versus

STATE OF BIHAR-----Respondent)

With

CR. APP (DB) No.575 OF 2006

SRIKANT SINGH-----(Appellant)

Versus

STATE OF BIHAR-----(Respondent)

Against the judgment and order dated 19.5.2006

passed by the Additional Sessions Judge(Presi-

ding Officer, Fast Track Court, Ist), Nawada,

in Sessions Trial No. 82 of 1999/5 of 2005,

arising out of Roh P.S.Case No.42 of 1998.

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For the appellants: Shri Farooq Ahmad Khan and

(in both the appeals)Shri Durgesh Nandan,Advocates

For the State: Shri Lala Kailash Bihari Prasad,

Additional Public Prosecutor

P R E S E N T

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THE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE C.M.PRASAD

THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE DHARNIDHAR JHA

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Dharnidhar Jha,J.- Appellants Nageshwar Singh alias Pratap

Narain singh ( who has described himself as

Pratap Narain Sharma also in his statement under

Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure)

and Malti Devi in Criminal Appeal No. 469 of

2006 are the parents of the sole appellant

Srikant Singh in Criminal Appeal No. 575 of 2006.

They were put on trial for committing the

offences under sections 302/34 and 201 of the

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Indian Penal Code and were found guilty of

committing the offence of murder by the learned

Presiding Officer of Fast Track Court, Ist,

Nawada, in Sessions Trial No. 82/1999/5 of 2005

and each of them was directed to suffer rigorous

imprisonment for life by the above noted court

under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. No

sentence of fine was imposed by the learned trial

Judge while passing the judgment and order of

conviction

dated

19.5.2006

which

is

being

assailed by the three appellants in the present

two appeals.

2. Some of the admitted facts of the

case

are

that

Sushma

Devi

was

married

to

appellant Srikant Singh and the couple had

begotten three children- two daughters, who were

the eldest and the youngest, and a son- and on

the date of occurrence the deceased was residing

in the house of the appellants. It is also not

disputed that the deceased Sushma Devi had given

birth to her third child just a prior to the

occurrence and on that occasion she was residing

in her parent’s house and had been brought by her

husband to his house in Nawada. It is also not

challenged that the death of Sushma Devi occurred

in the house of the appellants.

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3. Under the above background of the

case, P.W. 2 Deo Narain Prasad Singh, the father

of the deceased, gave his fardbeyan at the house

of the appellants alleging that he had come to

his house from his work-place at about 7 P.M. on

24.9.1998 when his wife, P.W. 5 Indira Devi,

stated to him that Sushma had been murdered by

her husband and in-laws. P.W. 5 stated to P.W. 2

that she had gathered the information from one of

the ladies of the Mohalla that the deceased fell

down from the roof and on that information she

went to a particular place in Nawada town and

found the dead body of Shushma lying in a trekker

covered with a cloth. Appellant Srikant Singh and

Nageshwar Singh replied to P.W. 5 on her query

that she had fallen down from the roof-top and,

as such, there was no need to cry, else, the

si