4. cri apeal 645­10.doc

RMA

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 645 OF 2010

(Through Jail)

Shivaji Krishna Malme

]

Convict Prisoner No. C/4688, 4/2,

]

Age : 56 Years, Presently lodged at

]

Kolhapur Central Prison, Kalamba,

]

Kolhapur.

] Appellant

(Org. Accused)

Versus

The State of Maharashtra

] Respondent

Mrs. B.P. Jakhade, Advocate appointed for the Appellant

Mrs. V.R. Bhonsale, APP for the State

CORAM : SMT. V.K. TAHILRAMANI &

MRS. MRIDULA BHATKAR, JJ

DATE : AUGUST 21, 2013.

ORAL JUDGMENT [PER SMT. V.K. TAHILRAMANI, J.] :-

1.

The appellant-original accused has preferred this appeal

against the judgment and order dated 18.05.2010 passed by the

Additional Sessions Judge, Sangli in Sessions Case No. 116 of

2009. By the said judgment and order, the learned Sessions

Pg 1 of 8

4. cri apeal 645­10.doc

Judge convicted the appellant for the offence punishable under

Section 302 of IPC and sentenced him to life imprisonment and

fine of Rs. 5000/- in default, RI for 6 months.

2.

The prosecution case briefly stated, is as under:

(a)

First informant PW 5 Usha was residing along with her

father-in-law and mother-in-law. Her father-in-law is the appellant

and her mother-in-law is the deceased in the present case. They

were all residing in one house.

(b)

The incident occurred on 28.04.2009 at about 03.00

p.m. There was a quarrel in between the appellant and his wife

Shalan. Both were abusing each other. At that time, PW 5 Usha

told them to keep mum. For 5-10 minutes, they kept mum,

thereafter, suddenly PW 5 Usha heard the sound of her mother-in-

law Shalan crying out. PW 5 Usha went in the adjoining room and

she saw that the appellant was assaulting Shalan with an axe and

Shalan was lying on the ground. Usha went to save Shalan,

however, the appellant threatened to kill Usha by assaulting her

Pg 2 of 8

4. cri apeal 645­10.doc

with an axe, hence, Usha did not come forward. Then the

appellant left the axe in the house itself and ran away. PW 5 Usha

lodged the FIR. Thereafter, the investigation commenced. Dead

body of Shalan was sent for postmortem. PW 1 Dr. Satpute

conducted the postmortem on the dead body of Shalan. He found

following external injuries on the dead body of Shalan:-

1. CLW over Rt. maxillary prominence, 12 x 3 x 5 cm

2. CLW over Rt. temporal region 10 x 3 x 5 cm

3. CLW over Rt. Parietal region 10 x 3 x 5 cm

4. CLW over Rt. Elbow Joint lat 2 x 1/2 x 1/2 cm

5. CLW over upper part of Lt. Forearm 10 x 2 x 2 cm

On internal examination, the Doctor found fracture to the

right temporal bone 15 x 3 cm and fracture to the right parietal

bone 15 x 3 cm. The cause of death was multiple head injuries.

After completion of investigation, the charge sheet came to be

filed.

3.

Charge came to be framed against the appellant under

Section 302 of the IPC . The appellant pleaded not guilty to the

said charge and claimed to be tried. His defence is that of total

denial and false implication. After going through the evidence

Pg 3 of 8

4. cri apeal 645­10.doc

adduced in this case, the learned Sessions Judge convicted and

sentenced the appellant as stated in paragraph 1 above. Hence,

this appeal.

4.

We have heard the learned Advocate for the appellant and

the learned APP for the State. After giving our anxious

consideration to the facts and circumstances of the case,

arguments advanced by the learned Advocates for the parties, the

judgment delivered by the learned Sessions Judge and the

evidence on record, for the reasons stated below, we are of the

opinion that the appellant assaulted his wife Shalan with an axe

and caused her death.

5.

The conviction is mainly based on the evidence of PW 5

Usha who is an eye witness to the incident. Usha was the

daughter-in-law of the appellant and the dec