Bombay High Court
Farid S/O. Ahamad Shaikh vs The State Of Maharashtra on 17 March, 2021
Bench: Ravindra V. Ghuge, B. U. Debadwar
2964.19crapln
(1)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
BENCH AT AURANGABAD
914 CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO.2964 OF 2019
IN APEAL/942/2019 WITH APEAL/942/2019
FARID S/O. AHAMAD SHAIKH
VERSUS
THE STATE OF MAHARASHTRA
...
Mr R. S. Shinde, Advocate for applicant;
Mr S. G. Sangle, A.P.P. for respondent
CORAM : RAVINDRA V. GHUGE
AND
B. U. DEBADWAR, JJ.
DATE : 17th March, 2021
PER COURT:
1. By this application, the applicant - convict prays for suspension
of substantive sentence, awarded to him vide the impugned Judgment
dated 11/04/2019. The learned Sessions Judge, Latur has concluded in
Sessions Case No.85 of 2016 that the applicant - accused is guilty of
having murdered his wife. He has been sentenced for life
imprisonment. He has also been convicted under Section 498-A of the
Indian Penal Code. The appeal has been admitted on 06/09/2019.
2. We have considered the strenuous submissions of the learned
Advocate for the applicant. We have referred to all the documents and
the testimonies that he has relied upon. His submissions can be
summarized as under :-
2964.19crapln
a) He has denied of having beaten his wife.
b) He has denied of strangulating her.
c) She committed suicide.
d) He was not inside the home when the incident occurred.
e) The testimony of his son, P.W.5, who is a 13 years old
boy, is a tutored testimony.
f) If his son had seen the applicant strangulating his mother
and creating a picture of suicide by hanging, did he immediately
narrate the relatives about the said acts ?
g) If the applicant strangulated the wife and created a picture
of suicide by hanging, there would have been injuries on the
body of the wife, as she would have struggled.
h) If there was no evidence of resistance by the wife when
the accused allegedly strangulated her, it would indicate that the
accused had never strangulated her.
i) The informant has stated in the first information report
that his sister, i.e. the wife of the accused, had committed
suicide.
j) After the son of the accused was interrogated almost two
and half months after the incident occurred, he has come up with
a tutored version that the accused strangulated his wife.
k) The testimony of a tutored witness should be disbelieved.
l) The testimony of P.W.6, daughter of the accused is again
tutored testimony.
3. The learned Prosecutor has strenuously supported the conviction
and he has relied upon the testimony of the son, P.W.5, and the
daughter, P.W.6, to support the conviction.
2964.19crapln
4. It is undisputed that the informant had purchased a ticket for the
accused to travel from Latur to Aurangabad by 5.30 bus on
25/07/2016. Since he had purchased the ticket, he had mentioned his
cell phone number with the bus operator. He received a call at about
4.30 a.m. that the passenger i.e. the accused, had not reached the bus
stand. He tried to call the accused and his sister on their cell phone. As
there was no response, he reached the house of the accused at about
5.30 a.m. and noticed that his sister was in a lifeless condition. Her
legs were bent knee downward and her knees were resting on a cot.
There was a sari tied around her neck, which was tied to a hook. The
body of his sister was not hanging, but appeared to have been placed
on a cot with knees bent and resting on the cot with the head in a loop
of sari.
5. P.W.5 - Taufiq is the son of the accused. There is no evidence
on record that the in-laws of the accused had any object or motive to
implicate the accused. Taufiq has recorded his statement under
Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and has also deposed
before the Court in Sessions Case No.85 of 2016. He has stated that
his paternal grandmother i.e. mother of the accused had put him under
an oath that he would not say a word to the police as having seen his
father strangulating his mother. He was threatened that if he divulges
this fact to the police, the police would pick him up and he would be in
2964.19crapln
big trouble. Subsequently, while staying with his maternal uncle, he
came out of the spell of his paternal grandmother and when he was put
to an oath in the name of "Allah", that he spoke out the truth while
recording his statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure. He has stated the entire story before the Court when his
testimony was recorded.
6. P.W.6 - Sana, is the daughter of the accused. She has also
deposed that the accused had a habit of beating her mother after
returning home from his contractual duties. Being a drunkard, he used
to beat her mother mercilessly. He used to make allegations against
her mother and sometimes beat her by suspecting her character. Once
he had beaten her mother by asking her whether she wears jeans and
whether any person meets her when he goes on his contractual duties.
She had also deposed that, frequently the accused used to tell her
mother that, it would be better that she hung herself and by not doing
so, it indicates that she is shameless. She has then stated that her
brother - P.W.5, Taufiq, told her as to how the accused had killed his
mother and had also told her that he had no divulged the said fact
earlier, as his paternal grandmother had warned him against such
disclosure, as the police would take him away if he told the truth.
2964.19crapln
7. The learned Advocate for the accused submits that there are
several discrepancies, which can be considered.
8. Considering the evidence before us, at this stage, we do not find
it appropriate to exercise our discretion and stay the substantive
sentence.
9. As such, this application, seeking suspension of substantive
sentence, being devoid of merit is, therefore, rejected.
(B. U. DEBADWAR, J.) (RAVINDRA V. GHUGE, J.)
sjk
