If murder is committed in secrecy of house, inmates of house also have to explain how crime occurred: Orissa High Court

When murder or other such crimes are committed within a house, the inmates of the house cannot simply keep quiet on the assumption that the prosecution alone has to prove its case, the Orissa High Court held recently. [Madan Mahunta v. State of Odisha].A Bench of Justices D Dash and Dr SK Panigrahi observed that other inmates of the house who could have possibly been privy to what had occurred within the house also have a burden to explain how such a crime could have occurred. .In view of Section 106 of the Indian Evidence Act, the burden of proof is not only on the prosecution in such cases, the Court explained. "Where an offence like murder is committed in secrecy inside a house, the initial burden to establish the case would undoubtedly be upon the prosecution, but the nature and amount of evidence to be led by it to establish the charge cannot be of the same degree as is required in other cases of circumstantial evidence. The burden would be of comparatively lighter character...The inmates of the house cannot get away by simply keeping quiet and offering no explanation on the supposed premise that the burden to establish its case lies entirely upon the prosecution and there is no duty at all on an accused to offer any explanation", the judgment stated..The Court made the observation while confirming the conviction of a man accused of killing his wife within their house in 2009. He was earlier sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of murder and cruelty to a woman in 2014.On appeal, the High Court modified the murder conviction to one of culpable homicide not amounting to murder..The Court found that it was sufficiently proven that the accused was the one who was "last seen with" the deceased woman, making it impossible for anyone else to have intervened and killed her.It also relied on the testimony given by the child of the deceased and the accused about the assault committed by the accused on his wife before her death. The judges opined that there was no reason why the child would have falsely deposed against his father..Further, the Court found it believable that the child may have not raised an outcry when the assault had begun, since the accused was stated to have had a history of behaving violently with his wife while under the influence of alcohol."...on the relevant day, he could not have thought by any stretch of imagination that his father (the appellant) would murder the deceased. It cannot be expected of P.W.15 to predict the consequences or the conduct of his own father as he is a small child and, therefore, it would be mechanical to assume that P.W.15 could have raised an outcry regarding the incident," the judgment said..Pertinently, the accused was unable to sufficiently explain the injuries incurred by his deceased wife or the manner in which she had died within the house."... this Court also affirms the finding of the Trial Court that the Appellant has not produced on record any cogent explanation regarding his wife’s injuries and under what circumstances she died," the High Court said while dismissing the appeal..Despite upholding the conviction, the Court proceeded to order for the release of the convict. This was in view of the number of years he had already spent in jail. The Court found that the period of imprisonment already undergone by the convict was sufficient punishment."In so far as the sentence, we notice that the Appellant has already undergone more than years of sentence and as such we hold that for the above conviction recorded the period undergone will be sufficient punishment...The Appeal is, thus, allowed in part and to the extent as to modification of conviction and sentence thereunder. We direct that the Appellant (Madan Mahunta) be set at liberty in the aforesaid case, if his detention is not required in any other case.".Advocate Bhabani Sankar Das appeared for the appellant whereas Additional Government Advocate SK Nayak appeared for the State..[Read Order]