Case Note & Summary
The case arises from the disappearance and murder of Dr. Vijaya Chaudhari, a Medical Officer at Civil Hospital, Jalgaon, on 12 March 2012. Her husband Dr. Arvind Chaudhari filed a missing report, and investigation led to the arrest of accused no.1 Yuvraj Sable, accused no.2 Pankaj Sandanshiv, and accused no.3 Maheshkumar Varma. Trial in Sessions Case No. 100 of 2012 resulted in conviction and death sentence for accused no.1, prompting a reference to the High Court under Section 366 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for confirmation, and appeals by all three convicts. Dr. Vijaya was on duty at Civil Hospital. She left home at 2 p.m. on 12 March wearing valuable ornaments. When she did not return, her husband searched and filed a missing report on 13 March. Investigation revealed that accused no.1, who brought unclaimed dead bodies for post-mortem and cremation, had cremated a body at Neri Naka crematory around 4:30 p.m. on 12 March, falsely claiming it was his grandmother's. He failed to provide details. Police traced accused no.1 and no.2 and arrested them on 16 March. On their disclosures, bones, ash, personal articles of the deceased were recovered from platform no.11 at the crematory. They also led police to the post-mortem room where blood stains and hair were found. The approver Gulab Bhagwani was also involved. The primary procedural issue was whether to first decide the criminal appeals against conviction or the confirmation case for death sentence. The court held that since conviction itself was challenged, the appeal must be decided first; only if conviction is upheld does the confirmation question arise. The court heard the Additional Public Prosecutor for the State and the defence counsel, but no specific arguments are detailed in the excerpt. The reserved date was 20 September 2014 and the pronouncement date 17 December 2014, but the operative part of the judgment is not included in the text provided. Therefore, the final outcome on merits is not mentioned.
Headnote
A) Criminal Procedure - Death Sentence Confirmation - Procedure when conviction challenged - Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, Section 366 - In a reference for confirmation of death sentence under Section 366 CrPC where the convicts have also appealed against their conviction, the proper course for the High Court is to first decide the criminal appeals. The question of confirming the death sentence arises only if the conviction is upheld. (Paras 1-2)
Issue of Consideration
Whether the conviction of the accused is sustainable and whether the death sentence awarded is warranted
Law Points
- The High Court should first decide criminal appeals before hearing confirmation of death sentence under Section 366 CrPC
