Raj Kumar vs State Of Maharashtra

3. From the record of the case following facts emerge. The appellant was married to deceased Pramila. The incident in question took place on November 12, 1994. During the subsistence of marriage the deceased gave birth to a boy named Sangam. The appellant used to ill-treat the deceased. Therefore, her brother Ishwar Sambhaji Kahire brought her to Village Belora. A compromise took place and, therefore, the deceased was sent to her matrimonial home. However, thereafter also the appellant continued to ill-treat the deceased. Therefore, her brother again brought her back to Village Belora. As the deceased had no means to sustain herself and her son, she had filed proceedings under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for obtaining maintenance from the appellant. The brother of the deceased took a room on rent for the deceased and her son at Wani belonging to one Dadaji Shankar Ganfade. The deceased and her son aged four years were residing in the said rented room and the boy was 4 taking education. After about one and a half months the appellant started visiting the deceased and pressurizing her to withdraw the proceedings initiated for getting maintenance.

On November 11, 1994, the appellant went to the room of the deceased in the evening time from his village Lalguda and asked the deceased to withdraw the maintenance proceedings. However, as the deceased had no means to maintain herself and her son, she refused to withdraw the proceedings. Again on November 12, 1994 at about 4.00 A.M. in the morning the appellant went to the room of the deceased. At that time the deceased and her son Sangam were sleeping. The appellant came there under the influence of liquor. On door being knocked by the appellant, the deceased opened the door and that is how the appellant entered the room occupied by the deceased. On entering the room the appellant pressed the neck of the deceased but the deceased got herself released from the clutches of the appellant. 5 Thereafter, the appellant took up an iron Polpat, i.e., Stone Rolling Pad and inflicted a blow on the head of the deceased. Because of the injury sustained by her, the deceased started bleeding. The appellant took some amount lying in the room and ran away. The son of the deceased started weeping loudly. His cries attracted the attention of the landlord Dadaji Shankar Ganfade. Dadaji in turn woke up his wife and other tenants and rushed to the room occupied by the deceased. On entering the room, he found that the deceased was lying injured seriously. On enquiry being made, the deceased told him and other tenants that as she had refused to withdraw the maintenance proceedings, her husband had inflicted blow on her head with a stick. The landlord of the house and other tenants immediately shifted the deceased to Wani Hospital.

The Medical Officer, who was in-charge of Rural Hospital, Wani, sent an intimation to the Police Station, Wani at about 5.00 A.M. that one woman named Pramila 6 was admitted in the hospital in an injured condition. The P.S.O., Wani Police Station, sent a requisition to the Executive Magistrate for recording dying declaration of the deceased in the very morning itself. On receipt of the requisition, the Executive Magistrate went to the Rural Hospital, Wani and recorded the dying declaration of the deceased at about 6.30 A.M. The P.S.O., Wani Police Station also directed Head Constable Ashok Dudhane to go to Rural Hospital, Wani, and record the dying declaration of the deceased. Accordingly the Head Constable went to the hospital and recorded the dying declaration of the deceased. After going through the contents of the dying declaration the Head Constable himself became the first informant and filed his complaint. On the basis of the First Information Report lodged by the Head Constable Ashok Dudhane the P.S.O., Wani Police Station registered crime No. 195 of 1994 for the offence punishable under Section 324 IPC against the appellant. Head Constable Ashok Dudhane 7 issued a letter to the Medical Officer, in-charge of Rural Hospital, Wani for medical examination of the deceased and accordingly the deceased was examined by the Medical Officer. However, the condition of the deceased started deteriorating. Therefore, she was referred to Chandrapur Hospital from where she was referred to Government Medical College and Hospital at Nagpur. On learning that her sister was admitted to Nagpur Hospital with serious injuries, her brother Ishwar Sambhaji Kahire went to the said hospital where the deceased made oral dying declaration before him that the appellant had beaten her by means of stick as she had refused to accede to his pressure tactics to withdraw the maintenance proceedings.

As the offence punishable under Section 302 IPC is exclusively tried by a court of sessions, the case was committed to Sessions Court, Yavatmal for trial. The 9 learned Sessions Judge framed charge against the appellant at Exh.-18 for commission of offences punishable under Section 302 and Section 498A of the IPC. The charge was read over and explained to the appellant. However, the appellant did not plead guilty to the charge and claimed to be tried. Therefore, the prosecution examined 11 witnesses and produced documentary evidence to prove charge against the appellant. After examination of the witnesses was over, the learned Judge explained to the appellant the incriminating circumstances appearing against him in the evidence of prosecution witnesses and recorded his statement under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. In the further statement, the case of the appellant was that of total denial. However, he did not examine any witness in support of his defence.

2. The net result of the above discussion is that there is no substance in the appeal and the same will have to be dismissed.

3. Accordingly the appeal fails and is dismissed.

July 15, 2009.