Patna High Court - Orders
Shiv Shankar Sah vs The State Of Bihar on 3 July, 2023
Author: Ashutosh Kumar
Bench: Ashutosh Kumar, Shailendra Singh
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL APPEAL (DB) No.444 of 2023
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-111 Year-2015 Thana- VIDYAPATINAGAR District-
Samastipur
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1. Shiv Shankar Sah, son of Sri Balkeshwar Sah, resident of village
Harpur Bochaha, P.S. Vidyapati Nagar, Dist. Samastipur.
2. Sangeeta Devi @ Sanjita Devi, wife of Sri Shiv Shankar Sah, resident
of village Harpur Bochaha, P.S. Vidyapati Nagar, Dist. Samastipur.
3. Balkeshwar Sah, son of Late Dilchand Sah, resident of village Harpur
Bochaha, P.S. Vidyapati Nagar, Dist. Samastipur.
4. Chandrakala Devi, wife of Sri Balkeshwar Sah, resident of village
Harpur Bochaha, P.S. Vidyapati Nagar, Dist. Samastipur.
... ... Appellant/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Respondent/s
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Appearance:
For the Appellant/s : Mr. Ajay Kumar Thakur, Adv.
Mr. Ritwik Thakur, Adv.
Md. Imteyaz Ahmad, Adv.
Ms. Vaishnavi Singh, Adv.
For the State : Mr. Ajay Mishra, APP
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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ASHUTOSH KUMAR
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SHAILENDRA SINGH
ORAL ORDER
(Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ASHUTOSH KUMAR)
3 03-07-2023Heard Mr. Ajay Kumar Thakur for the appellants/applicants and Mr. Ajay Mishra for the State.
The written objection is on record.
The appellants/applicants have been convicted for the offence punishable under Section Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.444 of 2023(3) dt.03-07-2023 2/8 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code in Sessions Trial No. 313 of 2016, arising out of Vidyapatinagar (Samastipur) P.S. Case No. 111 of 2015, and have been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life, to pay a fine of Rs. 20,000/- each and in default of payment of fine, to further suffer simple imprisonment for six months.
The appeal has been admitted vide order dated 15.05.2023.
Mr. Thakur, the learned Advocate, while canvassing for suspension of sentence of the appellants/applicants, has stated that the primary evidence against the appellants/applicants is of the daughter of the deceased who at the time of deposing before the Court was only nine years of age. From her description of the house, it can be gathered that the family is very poor and the appellant Nos. 1 and 2 resided with the deceased and her husband (since convicted). The appellant No. 3 and 4, who are the parents-in-law of the deceased, resided in another house as the house in which the deceased was found dead was Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.444 of 2023(3) dt.03-07-2023 3/8 very small in size. He has further submitted that the daughter of the deceased (P.W.-4) has given a statement which is not corroborated by medical evidence. According to her, the deceased was beaten up severely and, thereafter, she was strangulated.
Mr. Thakur further submits that though the accusation levelled by the daughter of the deceased (P.W.-4) is a detailed one, but there are many conspicuous loopholes, which cannot be ignored. Had the deceased been assaulted by more than one person, she would have suffered other injuries; but the doctor has found none while conducting post-mortem on her body. All that has been found by the doctor is a circular ligature mark on the neck of the deceased, suggesting either strangulation or a self-inflicted injury, which has caused the death. Apart from this, he suggests that there is no direct evidence with respect to assault of the deceased. The reason for the occurrence leading to the fight between the family members and consequent death of the deceased, also remains obscure. A couple of Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.444 of 2023(3) dt.03-07-2023 4/8 circumstances have been offered by P.W.-4 for the dispute in the family, none of which make out any case of strained relationship or any planning to kill the deceased.
As opposed to the afore-noted contentions, Mr. Mishra has submitted that even after discounting some parts of the statements of P.W.-4, her story is absolutely believable as she had witnessed the occurrence. She has specifically stated that her mother was assaulted by all the accused persons on account of a fight which had originated because her grand-mother had given broken bangles to the deceased. Though, this story has not been carried forward nor is it the prosecution case but coming from the mouth of a nine years old girl, who at the time of occurrence was even younger, cannot be totally discarded. There may not be any long term intention of doing away with the life of the deceased, but beating a woman in a house, singling her out by many persons, would definitely attract the penal offence of causing such bodily injury to the deceased, Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.444 of 2023(3) dt.03-07-2023 5/8 which in ordinary course of nature would cause death, thereby bringing the case within the mischief of culpable homicide amounting to murder.
After having heard the counsel for the parties and having perused the judgment as well as the records of the case, we find that the father of the deceased has alleged that because of the non-fulfillment of the demand of the accused persons in aiding the family for purchase of a scorpio vehicle, the deceased has been done to death. The informant saw the dead body of his daughter lying on a bed in one of the rooms of the house. He has admitted that the information about the death of the deceased was given by appellant No. 1 and he was made to understand that because of a squabble in the house, the deceased committed suicide. However, he was convinced that the deceased was killed by her in- laws.
The deceased was married about seventeen years ago with one Mohan Sah. There had been no complaint regarding the marital relation between the Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.444 of 2023(3) dt.03-07-2023 6/8 deceased and her husband and the in-laws to be bad at any point of time. Appellant No. 3, who is the father-in- law, is a retired government servant, who seeing that the main house was too small for residing there, got another house constructed nearby where he resided with appellant No. 4, his wife. Thus, for all practical purposes we found that appellant Nos. 3 and 4 were not residing in the house with the deceased and other members of the family.
Since the deceased had happily lived in her matrimonial home for seventeen years, that is a good enough indicator for us to believe that there was no planning or any motive to do away with the life of the deceased. It was definitely not for dowry or for non- payment of the balance money which the family could not afford for purchasing a scorpio vehicle (a story weaved by the father of the deceased).
While analyzing the deposition of P.W.-4, the daughter of the deceased, we further find that perhaps appellant No. 4, the mother-in-law of the deceased, had Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.444 of 2023(3) dt.03-07-2023 7/8 brought some gifts, but chose to give broken bangles to the deceased. This could have started the fight in the family. What actually happened is not known.
The following strands of facts persuade us to suspend the sentence of appellant Nos. 2, 3 and 4 during the pendency of the appeal:-
(i) the informant was told by P.W.-1 about the death of the deceased;
(ii) there is no prior incident or history of any fight in the family;
(iii) the parents-in-law of the deceased stay separately;
(iv) even P.W.-4 does not specifically state as to who all assaulted the deceased;
(v) absence of any injury on the person of the deceased apart from the ligature mark on the neck; and
(vi) The appellant No. 4 has remained in jail during the period of trial, whereas appellants No. 2 and 3 were on bail during trial. The husband of the deceased (appellant No. 1) has also been convicted and presently is in custody.
Taking a holistic view of the matter, we deem it appropriate to suspend the sentence of appellant Nos. Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.444 of 2023(3) dt.03-07-2023 8/8 2, 3 and 4 during the pendency of the appeal and we order accordingly.
Let appellant Nos. 2, 3 and 4, above-named, be released on bail on their furnishing bail-bonds in sum of Rs. 10,000/- (Rupees ten thousand) each with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Additional District and Sessions Judge-VII, Samastipur in Sessions Trial No. 313 of 2016, arising out of Vidyapatinagar (Samastipur) P.S. Case No. 111 of 2015.
The prayer for suspension of sentence of appellant No. 1 is however rejected for the present, for the reason of his being a male member of the house when the struggle had taken place and there being an allegation of his having taken part in the assault.
(Ashutosh Kumar, J)
(Shailendra Singh, J)
Shahnawaz/Praveen
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