Dismissed

Bhau Laxman Pingale v. the State of Maharashtra

Bombay HC19 Aug 2013APEAL/484/2010

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court dismissed the criminal appeal against the conviction and life imprisonment sentence under Sections 302, 304, and 309 of the IPC for the murder of the appellant's wife and another individual, affirming the reliability of the eyewitness testimony.

What did the court decide?

None. The appeal against the conviction and sentence under Sections 302, 304, and 309 IPC was dismissed.

Bhau Laxman Pingale Vs the State of Maharashtra — Murder and Culpable Homicide | Bombay HC (2013)

¶1

CRI APEAL 484-10.doc

¶2

RMA

¶3

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

¶4

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 484 OF 2010

¶5

Bhau Laxman Pingale	]
Age 30 Years, Occupation - Nil,	]
Resident of Tringalwadi, Igatpuri,	]
Dist. Nashik.	]
At present lodged at Nashik Road Central	]
Prison as Convict No. 7872.	] Appellant (Org. Accused)

¶6

Versus

¶7

The State of Maharashtra ] At the instance of Igatpuri Police Station, ] Nashik. ] Respondent

¶8

Mr. Arfan Sait, Advocate appointed for the Appellant

¶9

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

¶10

CORAM : SMT. V.K. TAHILRAMANI &

¶11

MRS. MRIDULA BHATKAR, JJ

¶12

DATE : AUGUST 19, 2013.

¶13

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

¶14

The appellant-original accused has preferred this appeal

¶15

against the judgment and order dated 12.08.2009 passed by the

¶16

Additional Sessions Judge, Nashik in Sessions Case No. 188 of

¶17

Pg 1 of 11

¶18

CRI APEAL 484-10.doc

¶19

By the said judgment and order, the learned Sessions

¶20

Judge convicted and sentenced the appellant as follows:-

¶21

Convicted u/S.	Sentenced to
302	Life Imprisonment
304	Rigorous imprisonment for Ten years.
309	S.I for Six months.

¶22

The learned Sessions Judge directed that all the substantive

¶23

sentences shall run concurrently.

¶24

The prosecution case briefly stated, is as under:

¶25

(a) The appellant was married to Nandabai ( deceased No.

¶26

1. since about 7-8 years prior to the incident. According to the

¶27

appellant, his wife Nandabai was having an affair with Balu (deceased No. 2 ). On account of this, the appellant left his wife

¶28

Nandabai to the house of her father about 1 & 1/2 years prior to the incident. Just few days prior to the incident, Nandabai was

¶29

brought back by the appellant and 2-3 persons.

¶30

(b) The incident took place on 30.05.2008. Being enraged

¶31

Pg 2 of 11

¶32

CRI APEAL 484-10.doc

¶33

by the fact that his wife Nandabai was having affair with Balu, the

¶34

appellant assaulted his wife Nandabai with a knife. Balu was sleeping near the bullock-cart in the courtyard of PW 4 Hema. At about 02.00 a.m., the appellant came by the side of the bullock cart and stabbed Balu with a knife on the chest. This act of the appellant of assaulting Balu on the chest with a knife was witnessed by PW 4 Hema as Balu was sleeping in the courtyard of Hema. Hema shouted for help. Others were awakened from sleep. One person caught hold of the appellant, however, in the meanwhile, the appellant inflicted injury with a knife on himself and fell down. Balu died on the spot. Nandabai was taken to the hospital but she died on the way to the hospital. FIR was lodged by PW 1 Kashiram who was the father of Nandabai. Thereafter investigation commenced. Dead body of Nandabai was sent for postmortem. PW 9 Dr. Sunil More conducted the postmortem on the dead body of Nandabai. He found following injuries on the

¶35

dead body of Nandabai:-

¶36

i. Cut incised wound right middle side of lower third of right thigh 4 x 1 x bone deep;

¶37

ii. Cut incised wound on right lateral side of lower third

¶38

Pg 3 of 11

¶39

CRI APEAL 484-10.doc

¶40

on right thigh 3" X 1" X bone deep.

¶41

According to PW 9 Dr. Sunil More, the injuries were

¶42

possible by sharp edged weapon. The injuries were sufficient to

¶43

cause death. The injuries were ante mortem. In his opinion, the probable cause of death was due to cardio respiratory arrest due

¶44

to hemorrhagic shock due to grievous injuries.

¶45

PW 9 Dr. Sunil More also conducted the postmortem on the

¶46

dead body of Balu and found following injuries:-

¶47

i. Penetrating wound with sharp edges below right nipple oval shape 3" x 2 cm.

¶48

ii. Penetrating wound below right coastal margin on chest, 3 x 2 cm.

¶49

iii. Penetrating wound near left nipple 2 x 1 cm.

¶50

According to Dr. More, the injuries were ante mortem. In his

¶51

opinion, the probable cause of death was due to hemorrhagic

¶52

shock due to grievous injuries to both lungs and liver.

¶53

During investigation, knife was seized from the spot. The

¶54

blood stained clothes of the appellant and both the deceased

¶55

Pg 4 of 11

¶56

CRI APEAL 484-10.doc

¶57

came to be seized under panchnama (Exh. 17). After completion

¶58

of investigation, the charge sheet came to be filed.

¶59

Charge came to be framed against the appellant under

¶60

Section 302 of IPC for causing the death of Balu by assaulting him

¶61

with a knife, under Section 302 of IPC for causing the death of Nandabai by assaulting her with a knife and under Section 309 of IPC in relation to the act of the appellant of assaulting himself with a knife in the abdomen. 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 adduced in this case, the learned Sessions Judge convicted the appellant under Section 302 of IPC for causing death of Balu by assaulting him with a knife, under Section 304 of IPC for assaulting Nanda on thigh with a knife and under Section 309 of IPC as the appellant assaulted himself with a knife in the abdomen

¶62

and sentenced the appellant as stated in paragraph 1 above, hence, this appeal.

¶63

Pg 5 of 11

¶64

CRI APEAL 484-10.doc

¶65

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 appellant assaulted his wife Nandabai and Balu with a knife and caused their death. The appellant also stabbed himself with a knife in the abdomen.

¶66

The conviction is mainly based on the evidence of PW 4 Hema who is an eye witness to the act of the appellant of assaulting Balu with a knife. PW 4 Hema has stated that on the night of the incident, Balu was sleeping in her courtyard. At about 02.00 a.m., the appellant came by the side of the bullock-cart and stabbed Balu with a knife on the chest. This act of the appellant of assaulting Balu on the chest with a knife was witnessed by PW

¶67

4 Hema as Balu was sleeping in the courtyard of Hema. Hema

¶68

shouted for help due to which the others were awakened from

¶69

Pg 6 of 11

¶70

CRI APEAL 484-10.doc

¶71

sleep. One person caught hold of the appellant. In the meanwhile, the appellant inflicted injury with a knife on himself and fell down. Nothing has been elicited in the cross-examination

¶72

of Hema so as to cause us to disbelieve her evidence. We find that her evidence inspires confidence, hence, we have no hesitation in relying on the same. The evidence of PW 4 Hema clearly shows that the appellant assaulted Balu with a knife on the chest and thereafter, the appellant inflicted injury on himself with a knife. Thus, as far as Sections 302 and 309 of IPC are concerned, the evidence of Hema clearly establishes the same.

¶73

As far as assault on Nandabai is concerned, there is no eye witness to the incident, however, it has come on record that the appellant had strong motive to do away with both Nandabai as well as Balu. The evidence of PW 1 Kashiram shows that the appellant suspected that there were illicit relations between Balu and Nandabai - the wife of the appellant. The evidence of PW 5

¶74

Tukaram also shows that 1 and 1/2 years prior to the incident, the

¶75

appellant had sent his wife Nandabai to the house of her parents

¶76

Pg 7 of 11

¶77

CRI APEAL 484-10.doc

¶78

as he suspected her character. Some days prior to the incident,

¶79

she was brought back by the appellant to his house. In Exhibit 35 which is the statement of the appellant under Section 313 of Code

¶80

of Criminal Procedure, the appellant has stated that his wife Nandabai and Balu were having affair, however, his case is that he did not commit the murder of Balu and Nandabai but some

¶81

persons who used to go for fishing from the lane near the house of Hema and his own house, have committed the murder of Balu and Nanda. It is seen that it is not a case of robbery but it is a simple case of murder. Balu was sleeping in the courtyard of PW 4 Hema

¶82

and Nandabai was sleeping in her own house. The only person

¶83

who had a motive to do away with both these persons was the appellant. Thus, it becomes clear that the appellant first assaulted Nandabai, then he assaulted Balu because he thought

¶84

that Nandabai and Balu were having affair. Thereafter, the appellant stabbed himself with the very same knife.

¶85

7. Mr. Sait, learned Advocate for the appellant submitted that

¶86

PW 4 Hema is the only eye witness to the incident of appellant

¶87

Pg 8 of 11

¶88

CRI APEAL 484-10.doc

¶89

assaulting Balu with a knife. He submitted that the evidence of PW 4 Hema cannot be relied upon because her eyesight was not proper. Moreover, as the incident occurred at night time i.e at 02.00 a.m., Hema could not have identified the appellant. In support of his contention, he placed reliance on the evidence of PW 4 Hema wherein she has stated that prior to the incident, she

¶90

was operated on one eye and she was using spectacles at the time of the incident. No doubt, PW 4 Hema may have stated that she was operated on one eye and she was using spectacles, however, no suggestion has been put to Hema that due to this, she was unable to make out the identity of the appellant. Moreover, though it was night time i.e 02.00 a.m., the incident occurred in the month of May at which time the skies are clear unlike monsoon time. As the appellant was a resident of the same village and residing in the same Wadi as that where Hema was residing, the appellant would be well known to PW 4 Hema so that it was possible for Hema to identify the known person from the village in the moonlight. Thus, we find no merit in this submission.

¶91

Pg 9 of 11

¶92

CRI APEAL 484-10.doc

¶93

Thereafter, Mr. Sait submitted that the appellant had been

¶94

assaulted by Balu or some other person and the appellant had not stabbed himself in the stomach. To support his submission, reliance is placed on Exhibit 42 - Medical Case Record of the appellant. Mr. Sait pointed out that the medical case papers show that there was history of assault on 30.05.2008 at 02.30 a.m. by

¶95

known person. However, on careful perusal of the medical papers, it is seen that 'known person' has been scored out and it is written as history of assault on 30.05.2008 at 02.30 a.m. by

¶96

'himself'. Moreover, on top of the page, it is clearly stated that "suicidal attempt". On further careful scrutiny, it is noticed that

¶97

the word, "Himself" has been written by the same Doctor who wrote the remaining part of the case papers as the handwriting is

¶98

identical. Thus, this fact and the evidence of Hema belies the

¶99

theory that some other person assaulted the appellant.

¶100

On going through the record, we find that there is sufficient

¶101

evidence to connect the appellant with the crime, hence, we find

¶102

no merit in this appeal. The appeal is dismissed.

¶103

Pg 10 of 11

¶104

CRI APEAL 484-10.doc

¶105

Office to communicate this order to the concerned prison Authorities and to the appellant who is in jail.

¶106

At this stage, we must record our appreciation for Advocate Mr. Arfan Sait who is on the panel of Advocates of High Court Legal Services Committee and who was appointed to represent the appellant in this appeal. We found that he had meticulously prepared the matter and he has very ably argued the appeal. We quantify total legal fees to be paid to him in this appeal by the

¶107

High Court Legal Services Committee at ` 2500.

¶108

[MRS. MRIDULA BHATKAR, J ] [SMT. V.K. TAHILRAMANI,J ]

¶109

jfoanz vkacsjdj

¶110

Pg 11 of 11

Bhau Laxman Pingale v. the State of Maharashtra

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Bhau Laxman Pingale v. the State of Maharashtra

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

A compact analysis

Issues for consideration

Statutes considered

Parties & counsel

Coram

Case details

Similar cases

Bharat Ananda Kumbhar Vs the State of Maharashtra

Mirza Himayat Baig @ Ahmed Baig Inayat Mirza @ Hasan Vs the State of Maharashtra

Dinkar Dagadu Katare Vs the State of Maharashtra

Kallappa Namdeo Kadam Vs the State of Maharashtra

Budha Daliya Tankari Vs State of Maharashtra

The State of Maharashtra Vs Hasnoon Hajiali Khan and Anr.