1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.840 OF 2005 Arvind Nathuram Vatkar R/O A-2 Shivshankar Hsg. Society, L. B. S. Nagar, Teen Numbar Khadi, 90 Feet Road, Safed Pool, Sakinaka, Andheri (East), Mumbai 400 072. ..Appellant. Vs. The State of Maharashtra At the instance of Sakinaka Police Station, C.R. NO.217 of 2003 ..Respondent. .... Ms. Indrayani Koparkar, Advocate appointed for the Appellant. Ms. M.M. Deshmukh, APP for the State. .... CORAM: SMT. RANJANA DESAI and, DR. D.Y. CHANDRACHUD 14th August, 2008. JUDGMENT (Per DR. D.Y. CHANDRACHUD, J. : 1. Nathuram Vatkar was married to Mangal on the death of his first wife. Ashwini, the complainant, is his daughter. Arvind who is the accused is the step brother of the complainant. Anil, Ravindra, Arvind and Sagar are the four sons of Nathuram. The case of the prosecution is that the Appellant, together with his brothers Anil and Ravindra, resided in a village named Adhul in the 2 District of Satara. The complainant, Ashwini, who resided in Mumbai visited the village in May 2003. Anil, who was one of her brothers resided in the village with his wife Sonali. According to the prosecution, Sonali had an extra marital relationship with the Appellant which was detected by the complainant during the course of her visit to the village. She returned to Mumbai in June 2003. Soon thereafter, the Appellant returned to Mumbai. On 28th August, 2003 the Appellant is alleged to have demanded money from his father Nathuram. Nathuram allegedly refused and in an altercation, at 4.30 p.m., he slapped the Appellant for the reason that he had developed an illicit relationship with Sonali. The Appellant is alleged to have left home and to have returned well after midnight. The case of the prosecution is that at 1.30 a.m. on 28th August, 2003 the Appellant got up and assaulted his brother Sagar with a sickle. Following this he assaulted his step mother Mangal again with the sickle. The Appellant is alleged thereafter to have asked the complainant to sit down upon which he allegedly stated that it was because of her that the family had come to know about his relationship with Sonali. The Appellant is alleged to have assaulted the complainant with a sickle and to have run away from the house after seriously injuring her on the neck and on the left 3 cheek. The father was assaulted. A person by the name of Ansari was residing in a portion of the house as a tenant and he rushed the complainant and her brother to hospital. Mangal was taken to hospital in a police van and died as a result of the injuries sustained in the assault. 2. The Appellant was committed to trial and was charged of offences under Sections 302, 307 and 324 of the Penal Code. By a judgment dated 18th February, 2005, the Additional Sessions Judge convicted the Appellant of an offence under Section 302 of the Penal Code and sentenced him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life; to a fine of Rs.5,000/- and in default to suffer simple imprisonment for one year. The conviction is premised on the finding that the Appellant was guilty of causing the murder of his step mother, Mangal, on 29th August, 2003. The Appellant has also been convicted of an offence punishable under Section 307 for having attempted to commit the murder of his sister and brother and is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life. A conviction under Section 324 of the Penal Code has also been recorded in respect whereof the Appellant has been sentenced to suffer simple imprisonment for three months. 4 3. The Appeal was instituted through the Kolhapur Central Prison where the Appellant has been lodged. In order to enable the Appellant to defend himself, this Court appointed Ms. Indrayani Koparkar to argue the Appeal on his behalf. We have heard the learned counsel for the Appellant and the learned APP for the State. 4. On behalf of the Appellant it has been submitted that he has been falsely implicated in the case and the testimony of P.W. 3 Shashikant Pawar and P.W. 4 Ansari ought not to be believed. It was urged that the Appellant was alleged to have developed an extra marital relationship with Sonali who was the wife of his brother Anil but the latter was not examined. In sum and substance it was urged that there was no evidence against the Appellant. On the other hand, the learned APP has submitted that P.W. 1, Ashwini, and P.W. 2, Sagar, are injured witnesses whose presence at the scene of offence was natural and in the usual course of things. The APP submitted that the testimony of the two eye witnesses is trustworthy and the Additional Sessions Judge was justified in accepting it. 5 5. The prosecution examined eleven witnesses. P.W. 1 and P.W. 2 are respectively the sister and the brother of the Appellant. P.W. 1 is the complainant. Both P.W. 1 and P.W. 2 deposed to the incident which took place on the night of 28th August, 2003. The Appellant was suspected to be involved in a relationship with his sister-in-law and P.W. 1 stated that she had detected this during the course of her visit to the village in the month of May 2003. Nathuram who is the father of the Appellant had reprimanded the Appellant. On 28th August, 2003 there was an altercation between the Appellant and his father. The Appellant left the house and returned well after midnight and at about 1.30 a.m. assaulted his brother Sagar, step mother Mangal and sister (the complainant P.W. 1) with a sickle. The evidence of P.W. 1 has remained unshaken during the course of cross examination. P.W. 2 Sagar was also injured during the course of the assault by the Appellant and he too deposed to the fact that the Appellant had assaulted his mother, sister and him with a sickle. P.W. 4 Ansari was residing in a portion of the house of Nathuram as his tenant. The house had a partition. Ansari stated that at about 2.00 a.m. he had heard the cries of the children from Nathuram's 6 portion of the house and from the gap in the partition he found that the Appellant had a sickle in his hand. The Appellant shouted at Ansari and threatened him. Ansari found Mangal lying on the floor in a pool of blood. The Appellant ran away from the rear side door of the house. Ansari entered the house. The complainant and Sagar were taken to the hospital for treatment by him. 6. P.W. 8 Dr. Sonde was attached to the Rajawadi Hospital as Medical Officer in 2003. The complainant was brought to him for examination and stated that she had been assaulted by a sharp edged weapon viz. a sickle. She had injuries over the mandibular region and two injuries on the neck which have been described as follows: “1. Deep C.L.W. (bone deep) size 3.5 inch x 1.5 inch over mandibular region. 2. C.L.W. Measuring 2.5 inch x 1 inch over left neck region. 3. C.L.W. Measuring 1.5 inch x 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm over left neck region.” 7. Sagar was examined by P.W. 8 and he was found to have sustained the following injuries on the neck and in the left clavicular region: 7 “1. C.L.W. Over back side of the neck region measuring 3 inch x 1 inch x 0.5 cm. 2. C.L.W. Over left clavicular region measuring 1.5 inch x 0.5 inch x 0.5 cm.” 8. Nathuram was also examined by P.W. 8 and he had punctured wound over the left arm on the left wrist. 9. P.W. 9 Dr. Brahmane conducted the postmortem on the deceased. The postmortem notes showed as many as seven incised wounds on the neck and thyroid, left shoulder, right lower chest, left web of index finger and neck. These were as follows: “1. Incised stab would on anterior of neck on thyroid cartilage size 9 cm x 2.5 cm x 2.5 cm fresh reddish blood clot present, left angle acute. On cut section skin cut already thyroid cartilage cut 2 cm x 1 cm at center, blood clot in respiratory tract present, soft tissue cut hemorrhagic. 2. Incised wound on superior of left shoulder, lateral angle sharp, size 3 cm x 2.5 cm x muscle deep reddish blood clot present. 3. Incised wound in front of left shoulder anteriorly by size 2.5 cm x 1 cm x muscle deep, reddish blood clot present. 4. Incised wound on lateral of shoulder joint size 3 cm x 1 cm x muscle deep on left side, fresh reddish in 8 colour. 5. Incised stab wound on right lower chest 10th enter costol space anteriorly size 2.5 cm x 1 cm x 1 cm, reddish blood clot present, both ends acute. 6. Incised wound on left web of index finger vertical on dorsol aspect size 5 cm x 1 cm x 1 cm fresh reddish in colour (defence wound). 7. Incised stab wound on posterior of neck middle, size 8.5 cm x 2.5 cm x 2.5 cm left angle acute reddish blood clot present, muscle deep.” Death had occurred due to hemorrhage and shock due to multiple stab injuries. 10. P.W. 1 and P.W. 2 are injured eye witnesses. They have witnessed the Appellant assaulting the victim, Mangal, with a sickle. Mangal died as a result of the injuries suffered in the homicidal attack by the Appellant. The evidence of P.W. 1 and P.W. 2 is credible and trustworthy. The Appellant assaulted the victim with an intention to kill her using a dangerous weapon of assault and caused multiple injuries as a result of successive blows. Death occurred as a result of the injuries. P.W. 1 and P.W. 2 sustained grievous injuries on the neck. The nature of the assault, the injuries sustained and the weapon of assault all 9 establish beyond reasonable doubt that P.W. 1 and P.W. 2 were assaulted with an intention to kill. Nathuram also sustained injuries as a result of the assault by the Appellant. All the injuries find due corroboration in the medical evidence. 11. In these circumstances, the judgment of the Additional Sessions Judge convicting the Appellant does not suffer from any infirmity. The case of the prosecution has been duly proved beyond reasonable doubt. There is no merit in the Appeal. The Appeal shall accordingly stand dismissed. (SMT. RANJANA DESAI, J.) (DR. D.Y. CHANDRACHUD, J.)