The prosecution must establish a conclusive chain of circumstantial evidence for conviction in murder cases, with any reasonable doubt favoring the accused.

JUDGMENT :

[M. Choudhury, J.]

Both these criminal appeals from Jail under Section 383 , Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 [‘CrPC’ and/or ‘Code’] have arisen out of a common Judgment and Order dated 30.11.2021 passed by the Court of learned Sessions Judge, Udalguri in Sessions Case no. 41 of 2017. The criminal appeal, Crl. A.[J] no. 29 of 2022 is preferred by the accused-appellant, Biren Das @ Bira [hereinafter referred to as ‘A-1’, for easy reference]. The other criminal appeal, Crl. A.[J] no. 26 of 2022 is preferred by the accused-appellant, Bapan Dutta [hereinafter referred to as ‘A-2’, for easy reference].

2. In the trial of Sessions Case no. 41 of 2017, these two accused-appellants, Biren Das @ Bira [A-1] and Bapan Dutta [A-2] faced a charge of murder in view of the alleged homicidal death of one Gauranga Das, along with another accused person, Umesh Deka [hereinafter referred to as ‘A-3’, for easy reference], and also a charge for the offence under Section 201 , INDIAN PENAL CODE [IPC], allegedly committed in furtherance of their common intention. By the common Judgment and Order of conviction and sentence dated 30.11.2021, both the accused-appellants have been convicted for the offence under Section 30 2, INDIAN PENAL CODE [IPC] in aid of Section 34 , IPC and also for the offence under Section 201 , IPC in aid of Section 34 , IPC holding that in furtherance of their common intention, they committed the murder of Gauranga Das [hereinafter referred to as ‘the deceased’, for easy reference] and thereafter, concealed the deadbody. For the offence under Section 30 2, IPC read with Section 34 , IPC, the accused-appellants have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 10,000/- each, in default of payment of fine, to undergo simple imprisonment for another six months each. For the offence under Section 201 , IPC read with Section 34 , IPC, each of the accused-appellants has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of Rs. 2,000/- and in default of payment of fine, to undergo simple imprisonment for another one month. It has been ordered that both the sentences are to run concurrently.

3. As it has been mentioned, the trial of Sessions Case no. 41 of 2017 was regarding homicidal death of Gauranga Das. The case, Sessions Case no. 41 of 2017 arose out of Panery Police Station Case no. 75 of 2016 and corresponding G.R. Case no. 1180 of 2016.

4. The crime case, Panery Police Station Case no. 75 of 2016 came to be registered pursuant to lodgment of a First Information Report [FIR] by one Ajay Deka as the informant before the Officer In-Charge, Panery Police Station on 20.11.2016. The informant is a resident of Ward no. 4, Police Station – Tangla. In the FIR, the informant inter alia mentioned that he was executing a contract-work of construction of a water tank under the aegis of the Public Health Engineering [PHE] Department at Munchibasti, Village – Uttar Kalikhola under Panery Police Station for the last two months and one Gauranga Das was engaged by him as a head mason for his said contract-work. The informant further mentioned that some labours were also engaged under the head mason, Gauranga Das. When the said contract-work was undergoing, one person named Umesh Deka [A-3], who worked with the head mason, Gauranga Das came to the house of the informant at Tangla at around 04-30 p.m. on that