Credible eyewitness testimony corroborated by medical evidence sustains a murder conviction.

The appellant was charged with murdering his wife, Bijay Laxmi Konwar, and was convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The Sessions Court sentenced him to life imprisonment and imposed a fine. In the appeal from jail, the appellant challenged that conviction and sentence.

The prosecution relied on two eyewitnesses, medical evidence, the appellant’s surrender with a bloodstained dao, forensic evidence, and his answers during examination under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

Whether the prosecution evidence established beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant committed the offence punishable under Section 302 IPC.

Whether the evidence and the appellant’s explanation under Section 313 CrPC provided grounds to interfere with the trial court’s conviction.

The Court applied Section 302 IPC, under which murder is punishable, and assessed whether the prosecution had proved the appellant’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. It considered the eyewitness testimony alongside medical and forensic evidence, and the appellant’s answers under Section 313 CrPC, as part of the evidentiary record.

The judgment cites no precedent.

The Court found the accounts of eyewitnesses PW-2 and PW-5 credible and consistent with the doctor’s evidence that the deceased suffered fatal chop wounds caused by a heavy, sharp cutting weapon. PW-1 had seen the appellant chasing PW-2 with a dao, and the appellant surrendered with a bloodstained dao; forensic testing detected human blood on the dao and a gamosa.

The Court further considered the appellant’s admission that he had struck the deceased and his explanation for doing so, and held that these circumstances corroborated the eyewitness evidence. It found no infirmity in the trial court’s conclusion that the prosecution had proved the charge.

It dismissed the appeal and directed that the trial court record be returned; it also directed payment of the amicus curiae’s fees according to applicable norms.