TMI Blog1980 (10) TMI 212X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lice to avoid defamation of his wife which is generally a concomitant consequence of initiation of a police investigation and prosecution. In spite of this stern admonishment administered by the Panchayat, the accused did not give up his evil designs to force Panchania to quench his sexual lust. 3. On February 16, 1972 in the afternoon, the accused again made overtures to the deceased and cut indecent jokes with her. She spurned the same and retaliated with a shower of abuses. 4. On February 17, 1972 at about 9 a. m., the deceased was returning home from Mahabiran Ka Talab where she had gone to prepare cow-dung cakes. She was carrying in her lap her 3-4 year old daughter, Jaidevi. She had hardly covered a distance of 20 to 25 steps from the Talab when the accused armed with a pharsa approached and assaulted her from behind. The accused inflicted severe Farsha blows on her in quick succession. Before she could shout for help she dropped dead to the ground in a pool of blood. Some of the blows struck by accused, caused injuries to the child, also who was in her lap and had fallen to the ground with the mother. At this juncture her husband, Manbodhan, P. W. 2, was coming with hi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the dead body was despatched to Hamirpur for postmortem examination. 5. Dr. Bhuneshwar Prasad (P. W. 3) examined the child Jaydevi, on February 17, 1972, at 4.30 p. m., and found three incised wounds on her forehead. The in-Juries were simple and in the opinion of the Doctor, had been caused with some sharp-edged weapon. 6. Dr. Vimal Kumar Tandon (P. W. 4) held autopsy on the dead body of Smt. Panchania on February 18, 1972 at 11 a.m. and found these injuries: 1. Abrasion 3 cm x 2 cm. over left knee in lower part. 2. Horizontal incised wound with contused margins 10 cm x 1 cm x 0.5 cm left back in the left inter-scapular region with tailing on outer side reaching up to the left supra spinture region. 3. Horizontal incised wound with contused margins, 15 cm x 5 cm x 8 cm. starting from the left cheek cutting the left lobula of ear completing and going up to midline on occipital region of neck cutting the muscles, great vessels, vertical ramus of left mandible, 1st cervical vertebrae and spinal cord underneath. 4. Oblique incised wound with contused margins, 19 cm. x 4cm. x 8 cm., on the back of middle of neck starting from outer border of left sterno-mastoid ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ch was to the effect that he had seen the accused running away from the scene of occurrence with blood-stained clothings and carrying a blood-stained Farsha through the Arhar field of Laxminarain (P. W. 5), was also relied upon as supporting evidence. P. W. 9 was the headman of the village. He was examined to prove that one year before her murder a complaint was made to the Panchayat by Manbodhan that the accused had molested his wife, and thereupon the Panchayat reprimanded the accused. 11. The trial Judge found that Laxminarain (P. W.5) and Girdhari Lal (P. W. 6) had no reason to perjure . He found that their evidence coupled with that of the headman (P. W. 9) was sufficient to hold that about one year before the occurrence in question, on the complaint of Manbodhan, the accused was called and reprimanded for outraging the modesty of Panchania deceased. The trial Judge also observed that Laxminarain and Girdhari are Brahmins, while Manbodhan and Shanker are Ahirs; and these two Brahmins had no reason to espouse the cause of Manbodhan against the accused, that they had no motive or deep-seated rancour to implicate Shanker in this heinous crime. He further noted that the lentil ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sunrise. The very circumstance that these persons were coming out for answering the call of nature indicates that the murder was committed quite early before sunrise when it was dark, (ii) The stomach of the deceased was empty, her large intestines were full of gases and faecal matter. This would lead to the inference that perhaps she had not eased herself. The emptiness of the stomach, and the presence of gases and faecal matter in the intestines is also consistent with the inference that the murder was committed possibly before sunrise and not as late as 9 a. m. (iii) The third circumstance which indicates to the same conclusion is that according to P. W. 10, Chandra Pal, a witness to the inquest, the dead body was despatched from the spot at 11.30 a.m. This witness was not declared hostile and was not cross-examined by the Public Prosecutor when he made that damaging statement. The statement of P. W. 10 with regard to the time of despatch of the dead body from the village cannot be reconciled with the statement of the Investigating Officer (P. W. 12), that the dead body was sent to the mortuary after the completion of the inquest at about 5.30 p. m. (iv) The polic ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the injuries found on the deceased were incised wounds with contused margins. The second injury was an incised wound, 1 cm. x 5 cm. x 8 cm., starting from the left cheek, cutting the lobule of the left ear completely and going up to the midline of the occipital region of the neck, cutting all muscles, the greater vessels, the left mandible, the first cervical vertebra and the spinal cord underneath. Such an injury could have been caused by a weapon which is arch-like or circular and not by a straight weapon like a Pharsa. (b) The prosecution has not established from the evidence of the medical officer that this injury could be the result of two blows. (vii) The four witnesses have evaded to tell the truth on two aspects of the matter: (a) The witnesses admitted the fact that Chhotey and Chhotu (P. W. 7) are the sons of deceased's father's sister. (b) The witnesses suppressed the fact that one Sheo Dayal is the real maternal uncle of the accused. This Sheo Dayal had prosecuted Raghunath (P. W. 9) for arson. P. W. 9 admitted that he was prosecuted and convicted for arson but was acquitted in appeal. (viii) P. W. 8 was unreliable because - (a) on reaching the scene ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e-witnesses are all unanimous on the point that the occurrence took place after sunrise. 19. Regarding (ii): The second reason given by the High Court for holding that the occurrence took place in the early morning when it was dark, is that there were gases and faecal matter in the large intestines of the deceased which indicated that perhaps she had not eased herself . This circumstance, in bur opinion, was not determinative of the time of her death. It cannot be isolated from two other tell tale circumstances, namely that at the time of her murder the deceased was carrying in her lap a 3-year old infant, and that her hands were found by the Doctor, who conducted the autopsy, smeared with cow-dung. Ordinarily, no mother would carry her 3-year old baby out into the fields before day-break when it was dark. If the cow-dung on her hands had not been fabricated - and we shall presently discuss there is no reasonable ground to hold that it had been fabricated - this would also be a firm pointer to the conclusion that the deceased, shortly before the fatal assault on her, was preparing cow-dung cakes. No person would prepare cow-dung cakes in darkness. 20. Regarding (iii): This w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sunset. In that case, the autopsy would have been conducted during day-time on February 17, 1972, there being no good reason to postpone it to the following day till 11-00 a.m. In all probability, the dead body reached the Mortuary sometime after night had fallen. 24. No. (iv): This argument was a corollary deduced from No. (iii). It therefore, falls along with the same. 25. No. (v): The High Court suspected that the dried cow-dung found by the Medical Officer (P. W. 4) on the hands of the corpse, had been 'planted' or got plastered on her hands by the Investigating Officer (P. W. 12) whose conduct, in the investigation of this case, according to the High Court, was unscrupulous and dishonest In this connection the High Court has observed that P. W. 12 had made a fraudulent insertion about the presence of cow-dung in the copy of the inquest report retained in the diary of the Police Station, while no such mention was made in the original Inquest Report. No question was put to P. W. 12 in cross-examination, nor was any other opportunity given to him to explain the circumstances in which the fact of the presence of cow-dung on the hands of the deceased, came to be ment ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he 16th and 17th February, 1972 from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. However, he did not rule out the possibility of these injuries having been caused at 5 a.m. on February 17, 1972. 29. Thus, none of the arguments employed by the High Court, or their premises, was of a clinching character to discount the direct ocular account of the eye-witnesses that the murder took place at about 9 a. m. 30. No. (vi): The High Court has opined that the extensive injury No. 2 found on the deceased could not have been caused with a weapon like a Pharsa, but with a weapon having a long curved blade. Here also, the learned Judges were not on terra firma. Pharsa is a sharp-edged weapon. We are told its blade resembles a gandasa blade or may even be curved like that of a battle-axe. The Pharsa or the weapon with which the fatal injuries were caused has not been recovered. This argument, therefore, rests on imaginary premises. The best person to give an opinion about the nature and shape of the weapon of offence used, was the Medical Officer (P. W. 4) who had conducted the autopsy. The Doctor (P. W. 4), as already noticed, testified 'that the injuries found on Panchania (deceased) could have been caused wit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d or a motive to falsely implicate him. 35. It is true that P. W. 9 Raghunath, as admitted by him in cross-examination, was, along with others, prosecuted on the charge of burning the bara of Shiv Dayal about five or six years before his deposition. The witness, however, asserted that the charge was false and he was acquitted in appeal, P. W. 9 stoutly refuted the suggestion that he got this case fabricated against Shankar accused. There is nothing on the record to show that the eyewitnesses P. W. 2. P. W. 5, P. W. 6 and P. W. 7 were under the thumb of P. W. 9. P. W. 2 and P. W. 7 and the accused are Ahirs, while P. W. 9 is a Rajput (Thakur). P. W. 5 and P. W. 6, also, do not belong to the caste of P. W. 2. As already noticed, P. W. 5 has a field situate at a short distance from the place of occurrence and his presence at or about the time and place of occurrence was probable. 36. Regarding No. (viii): The High Court has brushed aside the testimony of P. W. 8 on two main grounds, namely, (i) that his name does not find mention in the Report (Ex. Ka-9) lodged by Manbodhan (P. W. 2); and (ii) that when he came to the spot after the occurrence and learnt from Manbodhan in the pr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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