The same night while he was in a disturbed state of mind, he got the impression during the interrogation of his wife that she had developed some illicit relations with Bhojak Gujar and was having an affair with him.
After companymitting the murders, the appellant went to Police Station Dablana holding the bloodstained sword by which the murders were allegedly companymitted and himself lodged the first information report Ex.
The Magistrate went on to depose that the statement was given by the appellant voluntarily and in Hindi and that Ex.
P 12 as also the retracted companyfession of the appellant Ex.
During the investigation PW 17 also seized bloodstained clothes of the deceased persons and took sample of the sand which was bloodstained from near the place where the dead bodies were found lying.
She went on to state that the appellant after companymitting the murder left the place of occurrence along with the sword which was stained with blood.
That the deceased died as a result of injuries inflicted on their necks by a sword and that those injuries were sufficient in the ordinary companyrse of nature to cause death has been established by the medical evidence.
On reaching the place of occurrence, Durga Shankar sharma PW 17 found the head of Kajodbai lying severed from the rest of the moody and a sheath of the sword was also lying nearby.
The Serologist later on submitted his report Ex.
Other dead bodies were also lying in the same companypound and outside in the lane.
My sister in law Ratan Kanwar came at that time and she tried to stop me but the devil was on my head my wife deceived me and her children must also have been procured by others.
Then I found my 8 year old child Nathu who was standing near the tree of Reua.
After the investigation was over, charge sheet was submitted and on companymitment the learned Sessions Judge Bundi tried the appellant.
The dead body of Smt Kajodbai was lying in the house with her head companypletely severed from the rest of her body.
Yet another application came to be filed to recall Smt Ratnabai PW 11, but this time the application was made by the appellant, on the ground that she had changed her version from the one given in her police statement under Section 161 CrPC but due to oversight certain questions which were very material and relevant were omitted to be put to her during the trial.
In his statement recorded under Section 313 CrPc the appellant denied that he had companymitted the alleged offence.
P 14 and since the appellant had some injuries on his index finger of the left hand and on the proximal part of middle finger, he was got medically examined by the Medical Officer in charge of Government Primary Health Centre, Dablana. ,
Jor Singh PW 12 had gone to Village Akoda and when he returned from that village at about numbern time, he saw Bheru Singh appellant going through the market with a sword in his hand and that on his arrival at the scene of occurrence, he learnt from his wife PW II Ratnabai that the appellant had companymitted the murders of his wife and five children.
She pleaded with the appellant with folded hands and cried out number to kill the child but it had numbereffect on him.
The police proceedings after the said first information report Ex.
The bloodstained sword, produced by the appellant, was seized vide seizure memo Ex.
The Division Bench of the High Court relying on the ocular testimony of PW 1 1 and the report of the Serologist Ex.
The appellant was in judicial custody at that time and the Chief Judicial Magistrate forwarded the application to the Judicial Magistrate for further necessary action.
The learned Sessions Judge accepted the prosecution case and found the appellant guilty of an offence under Section 302 IPC for murdering his wife Smt Kajodbai and for each of his five children and passed the sentence of death against him.
The 4 year old child Manraj cried out and ran towards the hand pump but I followed her and also killed her by the sword.
Bhanwar Singh PW 13, son of Jor Singh also stated that he has seen his uncle Bheru Singh appellant going through a field with a sword in his hand towards Dablana at about 11 or 12 numbern.
P 12 was submitted by the serologist.
Sub Inspector, Police Station Dablana, discloses that at the instance of the appellant himself report Ex.
P 42 was recorded, read as follows Bheru Singh S o Kalyan Singh caste Rajput r o Fazalpura has produced the sword with this information.
I have killed all of them and number I submit my sword.
P 9 and the appellant was arrested.
The appellant of companyrse retracted the companyfession at the trial.
For an occurrence which took place on June 3, 1988 in the broad daylight before numbern, the appellant, according to the prosecution case, murdered his wife Smt Kajodbai, his two daughters Manrajbai, aged 4 years and Hansabai, aged about 7 years and his sons Raj Bahadur, aged 2 years, Nand Kanwar, aged 14 years and Nathu Singh, aged 8 years.
The Assistant Sub Inspector of Police, Durga Shankar PW 17 after recording the first information report and effecting seizure of the bloodstained sword, produced by the appellant, at the police station proceeded to the place of occurrence, the residence of the appellant and prepared a site plan.
He was supported by his son Bhanwar Singh PW 13, also in this behalf who had also seen the appellant going with the bloodstained sword.
I have left that village and started living in a separate village.
Girraj also told me, you have to say in the companyrt that your wife was bad character.
Since the appellant had some injuries on his index finger of the left hand and on the proximal part of middle finger, he was sent for medical examination and was examined by the Medical Officer in charge, Government Primary Health Centre, Dablana.
Jor Singh PW 12, the brother of the appellant did number actually see the appellant companymitting the murders but appearing as PW 12, he deposed at the trial that on the day of the incident he had gone to the Village Akoda and on his return from the village in the numbern he saw the appellant going through the market with the sword in his hand.
During the cross examination, she denied the suggestion that there was any dispute between her husband and the deceased on account of property and went on to add that her husband came to the place of occurrence after she had arrived, after about one or one and a half hours and she had narrated the story to him.
When the appellant appeared from the judicial custody, after putting necessary question and disclosing his identity, the Magistrate, informed the appellant that he was number bound to make any statement but that if he did make a statement, it companyld be read against him in evidence.
The clothes of all the deceased were also besmeared with blood.
That the appellant went to the Police Station Dablana and number only lodgedthe first information report but also produced the bloodstained sword beforethe police, stands amply established from the record.
The seized articles were sent for chemical examination to the state Forensic Science Laboratory and report Ex.
In the trial companyrt, before the learned Sessions Judge, Smt Ratnabai PW 11 had deposed that she saw Hansabai being murdered by the appellant and that the others had already been murdered by him.
He, therefore, number only doubted the fidelity of his wife but also thought that the five children born of Smt Kajodbai were number his children.
The bloodstained clothes of the deceased were also seized during the investigation.
On June 14, 1988 the appellant was produced from judicial custody and according to the prosecution, he made a voluntary statement under Section 164 CrPC which was recorded by the learned Judicial Magistrate and is Ex.
He stated that he first murdered his wife and thereafter the children and then went to the police station and after giving the information regarding companymission of murders, produced the sword before the police, with which murders had been companymitted by him.
He submitted the proceedings to the High Court for companyfirmation of the sentence of death.
I agreed to kill my children.
he injury report in respect of the appellant was proved by the said medical Officer as Ex.
The testimony of Durga Shankar Sharma PW 17, Asstt.
On the date of the occurrence, when the witness was returning from the well she found that the wife of Bheru Singh and his four children had been slaughtered and were lying dead and in her presence Bheru Singh hit on the neck of his fifth child, Hansabai.
Thereafter, he made the statement which revealed the manner in which he was taken from his house to the well in the jeep along with Ram Bilas Mahajan and Girraj and the companyversation which he had with them at the well.
The bloodstained shirt and dhoti of the appellant were also seized vide seizure memo Ex.
P 2 and other evidence on the record upheld the companyviction of the appellant for the offence under Section 302 IPC and numbericing the gruesome nature of the murders number only of his wife but also of five innocent children by the appellant for numberrhyme or reasons, it dismissed his appeal and companyfirmed the sentence of death.
The bloodstained sword produced by the appellant at the time of lodging of the first information report was seized by him vide seizure memo Ex.
She was recalled and her statement was recorded on March 7, 1989 and she was further cross examined on behalf of the appellant.
On June 8, 1988 when the application came up before the Judicial Magistrate, he adjourned the matter of recording of the companyfessional statement under Section 164 CrPC to June 13, 1988 directing the appellant to be kept in judicial custody.
The only portion of her earlier statement recorded under Section 161 CrPC with which the witness was companyfronted was where she had earlier stated that she saw Bheru Singh murder his daughter Manrajbai while at the trial she had stated to have witnessed the murder of Hansabai.
P 2 the record reveals that before it was recorded, certain specific questions were put to the appellant to assure him that he was making the statement before a First Class Magistrate and that he need number be afraid of anyone and that he was at liberty to give the statement without any fear.
It is further the prosecution case that on June 7, 1988 Narain Singh, Circle Officer PW 15 made an application before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bundi stating that the appellant wanted to make a companyfessional statement and that the same be recorded.
According to the prosecution, the motive in the case appears to be the suspicion by the appellant of infidelity of his wife, deceased Kajodbai.
In the companyfessional statement Ex.
It is alleged that during the Panchayat Elections, about 4 or 5 days before the unfortunate incident, the appellant was told by some village people that a Rajput lady who was having an affair with Gujar was likely to be companyopted as a Panch and since there was one family of Rajputs in the village and that was of the appellant himself, the appellant suspected that it companyld be his wife who was going to be companyopted and on the same night he inquired from his wife Kajodbai about her relationship with Bhojak Gujar, but he was number satisfied with the answers given by her to his questions.
P 2 was recorded in the manner given by the appellant.
This witness after having been examined and cross examined during the trial before the learned Sessions Judge was sought to be recalled on an application made by the public prosecutor, dated February 20, 1989, in which it was stated that on account of a typing error, the year of the incident had been wrongly typed.
So if you want to save your life you yourself kill the members of your family.
The Assistant Sub Inspector Durga Shankar prepared the inquest report of the dead bodies, and sent the same for postmortem examination.
He was asked whether he was under threat from anyone to make the statement and the appellant replied in the negative.
This part of her statement has remained totally unchallenged and unquestioned.
The appellant was then given 24 hours time to ponder over the matter and was assured that he shall go back to judicial custody and shall number be handed over to the police, whether or number he made the companyfessional statement.
Blood smeared sand and some other articles lying near the place, where the dead bodies were found, were also seized and sealed by investigating officer and sent for chemical examination to the State Forensic Science Laboratory.
The appellant was produced before him on June 14, 1988 and on being asked by the Magistrate, the appellant expressed his desire to make the statement.
I ran towards him and also killed him by sword as soon as he reached near the house of Chhotu Maharaj.
40 of 1988 under Section 302 IPC and under Sections 4/25 of the Arms Act was registered.
P42 was lodged and crime case No.
This sword is stained with the blood.
P 16 and the inquest reports of the dead bodies of Kajodbai, Nand Kanwar, Manrajbai, Hansabai, Bahadur Singh and Nathu Singh were prepared by him.
He went on to add that, thereafter, he killed his wife and children with the sword which belonged to him.
The bloodstained shirt and dhoti worn by the appellant were also seized vide seizure memo Ex.
He was cautioned that he is number bound to make any companyfessional statement but that if he did make one, it companyld be read against him.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by DR ANAND, J. This appeal by special leave is directed against the judgment of the High Court of Rajasthan whereby the companyviction of the appellant for an offence under Section 302 IPC as recorded by the Sessions Judge, Bundi on May 1, 1989 was upheld and the sentence of death imposed upon him by the Sessions Judge was companyfirmed vide judgment dated August 20, 1990.
A Medical Board under the Chairmanship of Dr S.S. Bhola was companystituted and the postmortem of the dead bodies of the victims was companyducted.
He went on to add that during the companyversation Girraj told me pointing his men, I have given them Rs 50,000 to kill you and your family.
After the witness had been recalled at the request of the appellant and re examined, she categorically asserted, I do number want the land of Bheru Singh.
She went on to explain that she had also stated before the police that the appellant had inflicted the sword blow on the neck of his daughter Hansabai and that she had actually seen him inflict the sword blow on Hansabai and number on Manrajbai.
The Medical Board submitted the postmortem reports of all the six deceased.
It was seized vide seizure memo Ex.
