JUDGMENT : Ramesh Sinha, J. 1. This criminal appeal filed by the appellant-accused under Section 374(2) of CrPC is directed against the impugned judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 30.06.2014, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Kunkuri, District Jashpur, Sessions Trial No.69/2013, whereby the appellant-accused has been convicted for offence under Section 302 of the IPC and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and further sentenced to fine of Rs.25,000/-, in default of payment of fine, to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year. 2. The prosecution case, as per the First Information Report (for short, the FIR) (Exhibit P/1) lodged by Jagdish Prasad Agrawal (PW-1) on 09.06.2013 at 7.30 a.m. at Police Station, Patthalgaon, is to the effect that he is the resident of Ambikapur Road, Patthalgaon. He owns a rice mill and after having his dinner, he was sleeping in his house. Arun @ Sonu Agrawal was his nephew in relation and was married to Poonam Agrawal of Prem Nagar ten years ago. At about 2 a.m., he received a phone call from the father of the appellant namely Anand Swaroop who informed him that some thieves had entered their house and had stabbed his daughter-in-law Poonam Agrawal. Upon such phone call, he alongwith his son Vikas Agrawal went to the house of Anand Swaroop and by the time they reached their house, Poonam was brought down from the first floor and blood was oozing out of her chest. She was immediately taken to the Government Hospital, Patthalgaon by Vikas and the appellant. Later, the informant came to know that Poonam had expired. Poonam died because of stabbing in her chest by some sharp weapon. 3. Merg intimation (Exhibit P/2) was recorded on 09.06.2013 at 08.25 a.m. and inquest report (Exhibit P/3) was also prepared on the same day. Nazri Naksha (Exhibit P/6) was prepared by Patwari Madan Ram Bhagat (PW-3) on 19.07.2013. Later, the informant came to know that Poonam had expired. Poonam died because of stabbing in her chest by some sharp weapon. 3. Merg intimation (Exhibit P/2) was recorded on 09.06.2013 at 08.25 a.m. and inquest report (Exhibit P/3) was also prepared on the same day. Nazri Naksha (Exhibit P/6) was prepared by Patwari Madan Ram Bhagat (PW-3) on 19.07.2013. On 09.06.2013 at 10 a.m., vide Exhibit P/11, pieces of blood stained cement flooring, plain cement flooring, one blood stained steel knife with wooden handle total length 19.5 cm, length of blade 10 cm, pieces of one blood stained bed sheet, one piece of blood stained cushion cover, one piece of blood stained door mat made out of a Saree, one blood stained fiber switch board 11”X9”, one blood stained plastic pipe measuring 7½ meters and one blood stained hair clipper made of steel and plastic, were seized from the place of incident by the Investigating Officer (for short, the IO) J.P.Singh (PW-11) in presence of the witnesses namely Ramesh Kumar (PW-6)and Rajeev Kumar Agrawal (PW-9). On 10.06.2013 at 1:00 p.m., one blood stained cotton lining check mark undergarments, one white half Baniyan which had blood stains on it, were seized by the IO in presence of the same witnesses. Similarly, on 22.06.2013, at 5:10 p.m., the bra, petticoat, blouse, undergarment and necklace of the deceased was seized in different sealed packets vide Exhibit P/16. 4. The seized articles were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory, Raipur, for its examination on 27.06.2013 vide Exhibit P/19 by the Superintendent of Police, Jashpur. A reminder letter was again sent on 23.07.2013 to the FSL, Raipur, seeking for the report. 5. After examination of the seized articles, the FSL report was prepared on 06.08.2013 vide Exhibit P/21 which disclosed that Articles B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, O and P had human blood on it. Articles C, E, G, H, J, K, O had the blood of ‘A’ group. The blood group on other Exhibits i.e. I, L, N, P, B, D, F, and M could not be ascertained because of various reasons. 6. Poonam Agrawal is the deceased in the present case. Her post mortem examination was conducted on 09.06.2013 at 02:00 p.m. by Dr. A.S.Thakur, Medical Officer, C.H.C. Patthalgaon which is marked as Exhibit P/8. The blood group on other Exhibits i.e. I, L, N, P, B, D, F, and M could not be ascertained because of various reasons. 6. Poonam Agrawal is the deceased in the present case. Her post mortem examination was conducted on 09.06.2013 at 02:00 p.m. by Dr. A.S.Thakur, Medical Officer, C.H.C. Patthalgaon which is marked as Exhibit P/8. The doctor found the following ante mortem injuries on the body of the deceased which are as under: Cut fracture left 6th costal cartilage. Incised wound on mid sternum with stab wound on right atrium cause haemo persicarium and escaping of blood through wound cause cardiac temporal collection of blood outside the head. Duration about 08 hours from post mortem examination. Injury caused by hard sharp and pointed object. 7. It was opined by the Doctor that the cause of death was due to cardiogenic and haemorrhagic shock which may be a result of stab wound on right atrium and the death was homicidal in nature. 8. The appellant was arrested on the next date of the incident i.e. on 10.06.2013 vide Exhibit P-18. After due investigation, the police filed charge-sheet dated 30.03.2013 in the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class, Patthagaon, District Jashpur, who in turn, committed the case to the Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Kunkuri, District Jashpur. Charges were framed against the appellant under Section 302 of the IPC by the learned Trial Court on 07.10.2013. The appellant-accused abjured his guilt and entered into defence that he has not committed any offence and he has falsely been implicated in crime in question and prayed for trial. 9. In order to bring home the offence, the prosecution examined as many as 11 witnesses and exhibited 23 documents. The appellant-accused also examined himself alongwith three other witnesses in his defence and exhibited three documents. 10. The learned trial Court, upon appreciation of oral and documentary evidence available on record, by its judgment dated 30.06.2014 came to the conclusion that death of deceased Poonam Agrawal was homicidal in nature and the entire evidence and records goes to show that the appellant has committed the said offence which has been proved against him beyond reasonable doubts and the prosecution has been successful in proving the case against him and thus, convicted him under Section 302 of the IPC and sentenced him as aforementioned, against which, this criminal appeal has been filed. 11. Mr. 11. Mr. Awadh Tripathi, learned counsel for the appellant would submit that there is no evidence against the appellant to connect him with the offence in question and he has been convicted by recording perverse findings. The appellant has been convicted merely on the basis of extrajudicial confession said to have been made before Shri Ram Agrawal (PW-4) and Smt. Shyam Bala Agrawal (PW/5) i.e. the parents, Ramesh Kumar Agrawal (PW/6), i.e. Uncle and Pradeep Kumar Agrawal (PW/8), brother of the deceased. Further, the blood found on the undergarments of the appellant and the sniffer dog pointing towards the appellant also cannot be considered as a conclusive proof to convict the appellant for the crime in question. There is no eye witness to the incident. Though the weapon of murder was seized from the spot, no finger prints were taken. Moreover, the appellant was not present at the place of occurrence when the incident is said to have taken place as he was attending a marriage function and he had also attempted to save the life of the deceased by taking her to the hospital immediately after the incident when he returned back from the marriage function. There are various omissions and contradictions in the statements of the witnesses. Therefore, the impugned judgment is liable to be set aside. 12. On the other hand, Mr. Ashish Tiwari, learned Government Advocate for the respondent/State, would support the impugned judgment and submit that death of deceased Poonam Agrawal to be homicidal is well established. The appellant has taken a plea of alibi stating that at the time of occurrence of the incident, he was away from his house attending a marriage function, however, the appellant has utterly failed to prove that he was not present at the place of occurrence. The prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and therefore, the appeal deserves to be dismissed. 13. We have heard learned counsel appearing for the parties and considered their rival submissions made hereinabove and also went through the records with utmost circumspection. 14. Now, the following two questions arise for consideration: (i) Whether the death of deceased Smt. Poonam Agrawal was homicidal in nature? (ii) If yes, whether the appellant herein is the author of the crime in question? 15. The learned trial Court after appreciating oral and documentary evidence available on record particularly relying upon the evidence of Dr. 14. Now, the following two questions arise for consideration: (i) Whether the death of deceased Smt. Poonam Agrawal was homicidal in nature? (ii) If yes, whether the appellant herein is the author of the crime in question? 15. The learned trial Court after appreciating oral and documentary evidence available on record particularly relying upon the evidence of Dr. A.S.Thakur (PW-2) who has conducted postmortem vide Exhibit P/8 has come to the conclusion that cause of death was due to cardiogenic and haemorrhagic shock which may be a result of stab wound on right atrium and the death was homicidal in nature. A query (Exhibit P/17) was made by the IO (PW/11) to the Civil Surgeon, Government Hospital, Patthalgaon, with respect to the seized knife as to whether the said knife could be used for causing injuries and death of the deceased. The said query was duly replied to by Dr. A.S.Thakur (PW/2) vide Exhibit P/9 who opined that the said knife could cause injury No. 1 and 2 and the said injury could cause death of the deceased. It is neither perverse nor contrary to record. We hereby affirm the finding of the learned trial Court that the death of deceased Smt. Poonam Agrawal was homicidal in nature. 16. The next question for consideration would be, whether the appellant is author of the crime ? 17. The aforesaid question has been answered by the learned trial Court in favour of the prosecution by holding the appellant guilty relying on the statements of IO, G.P.Singh (PW-11), Shri Ram Agrawal (PW/4) and Smt. Shyam Bala Agrawal (PW/5), who are the parents of the deceased. The parents of the deceased have categorically stated that after one year of the marriage of the deceased and the appellant, the appellant and his parents used to taunt the deceased as one of her eye was defective and she was often tortured by the appellant for petty reasons. Even on the day when the appellant and the deceased alongwith their children returned from Vaishno Devi trip, there was an argument between them which was duly intimated by the deceased over mobile to her parents twice and it was stated by her that the appellant is going to kill her. The argument arose between them when they had gone to Vaishno Devi over an issue of purchasing some articles. 18. The argument arose between them when they had gone to Vaishno Devi over an issue of purchasing some articles. 18. In support of his case, the appellant got himself examined as DW/1 who deposed that on the date of incident i.e. on 08.06.2014, he had gone to Patthalgaon to attend the marriage of his friend Gaurav Agrawal. He had gone there at about 8 – 9 p.m. and he was in the marriage function till around 2 a.m. when he received the phone call of his father that some thieves had stabbed his wife. The appellant immediately rushed back to his house and he alongwith others, took the deceased to the Government Hospital, Patthalgaon where she was declared dead after 15 minutes. When the appellant had reached home, the deceased was breathing faintly and was saying ‘Chor-Chor’ in very low voice. She could not talk much. 19. Though, the appellant in the cross-examination has stated that it was incorrect to state that he was at home and had not gone to attend any marriage function and has further denied that he has murdered his wife because of the frequent quarrel which took place between them. The appellant has admitted that he had not lodged the FIR but was lodged by Jagdish Prasad Agrawal (PW/1). 20. The appellant had relied on the statements made under Section 161 CrPC before the Police by Shri Ram Agrawal (PW-4) i.e. the father, Smt. Shyam Bala Agrawal (PW-6) i.e. the mother and Pradeep Kumar Agrawal (PW/8) i.e. the brother of the deceased. All these witnesses have deposed that on a query as to how the incident happened, the appellant himself made an extra-judicial confession before them that by mistake he killed the deceased. Similar statement has been made by them before the learned Trial Court also. Hence, there is nothing in the statement of these witnesses which may be of any help to the appellant. 21. Learned counsel for the appellant would also submit that the inquest (Exhibit P/3) was prepared in presence of the father (PW/4) of the deceased, however, he had not stated anything against the appellant at that point of time and his statement was recorded after a month on 09.07.2013. 21. Learned counsel for the appellant would also submit that the inquest (Exhibit P/3) was prepared in presence of the father (PW/4) of the deceased, however, he had not stated anything against the appellant at that point of time and his statement was recorded after a month on 09.07.2013. The police has also not attempted to obtain any call records in order to corroborate with the statements made by the parents and brother of the deceased that the deceased had expressed apprehension that the appellant may kill her. 22. Though the appellant has tried to take a plea of alibi by stating that at the time of incident, he was not at home but was attending a marriage function of his friend, the appellant has not produced any marriage card or any independent witness to corroborate this statement. There is no conclusive proof available on record so as to come to a conclusion that the appellant was not present at the place of occurrence when the incident took place. When the appellant was attending a marriage function, it was not possible for him to reach home so quickly after receiving a phone call from his father. 23. Further, the appellant has also not satisfactorily explained how the blood stains were found on his undergarments and not on any other clothes especially when he claims to have returned back after attending a marriage function. Obviously the appellant would have gone to the marriage function wearing proper dress and presence of blood on his undergarments would be a pointer to the fact that he was at his home all the time and the plea of alibi also gets falsified. 24. The Hon’ble Supreme Court, in State of Maharashtra v. Narsingrao Gangaram Pimple, AIR 1984 SC 63 , has observed that it is well settled that a plea of alibi must be proved with absolute certainty so as to completely exclude the possibility of the presence of the person concerned at the place of occurrence. 25. In Subhash Chand v. State of Rajasthan, (2002) 1 SCC 702 , the Hon’ble Supreme Court observed as under: “(iv) False plea of alibi 20. The High Court has gone completely amiss in holding that a plea of alibi was taken by the accused and that was found to be false. 25. In Subhash Chand v. State of Rajasthan, (2002) 1 SCC 702 , the Hon’ble Supreme Court observed as under: “(iv) False plea of alibi 20. The High Court has gone completely amiss in holding that a plea of alibi was taken by the accused and that was found to be false. The accused has not stated during his statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C. and nowhere suggested during cross-examination of prosecution witnesses that at the time of the incident he was at a place wherefrom he could not have reached the place of the offence on the date and at the time of its commission. Although the dead body of the victim was found on the outskirts of the village, however, there is no material available on record to fix the place and the likely time at which rape was committed on ‘S’ and then she was murdered. What is being treated as the plea of alibi by the trial court and the High Court is this. The accused appears to have been engaged as a causal (not regular) gate-keeper at 'Hira Moti'-a local talkies. The proprietor of the cinema hall was examined to state that on 18th and 19th March the accused had taken leave from his job and during those days he was not present on duty. This piece of evidence was put to the accused during his statement under Section 313 Cr.P.C. and in reply he stated 'Galat Hai' (not correct). The purpose of asking questions during examination under Section 313 Cr.P.C. is to afford the accused personally an opportunity of explaining any incriminating circumstance so appearing in evidence against him. The accused may or may not avail the opportunity for offering his explanation. The accused did not avail the opportunity and stood short by simply stating that the statement of cinema owner was not correct. 21. Literal meaning of alibi is 'elsewhere'. In law this term is used to express that defence in a criminal prosecution, where the party accused, in order to prove that he could not have committed the crime charged against him, offers evidence that he was in a different place at that time. The plea taken should be capable of meaning that having regard to the time and place when and where he is alleged to have committed the offence, he could not have been present. The plea taken should be capable of meaning that having regard to the time and place when and where he is alleged to have committed the offence, he could not have been present. The plea of alibi postulates the physical impossibility of the presence of the accused at the scene of offence by reason of his presence at another place. (See Law Lexicon, P. Ramnath Iyer, 2nd Edn. p. 87.) Denial by an accused of an assertion made by his employer that the accused was on leave of absence from duty on the date of offence does not, by any stretch of reasoning or logic, amount to pleading alibi.” 26. In Binay Kumar Singh v. State of Bihar, AIR 1997 SC 322 , the Hon’ble Supreme Court while describing the meaning of the term ‘alibi’ observed as under: “22. The Latin word alibi means "elsewhere" and that word is used for convenience when an accused takes recourse to a defence line that when the occurrence took place he was so far sway from the place of occurrence that it is extremely improbable that he would have participated in the crime. It is basic law that in a criminal case, in which the accused is alleged to have inflicted physical injury to another person, the burden is on the prosecution to prove that the accused was present at the scene and has participated in the crime. The burden would not be lessened by the mere fact that the accused has adopted the defence of alibi The plea of the accused in such cases need be considered only when the burden has been discharged by the prosecution satisfactorily. But once the prosecution succeeds in discharging the burden it is incumbent on the accused, who adopts the plea of alibi to prove it with absolute certainty So as to exclude the possibility of his presence at the place of occurrence. When the presence of the accused at the scene of occurrence has been established satisfactorily by the prosecution through reliable evidence, normally the court would be slow to believe any counter evidence to the effect that he was elsewhere when the occurrence happened. When the presence of the accused at the scene of occurrence has been established satisfactorily by the prosecution through reliable evidence, normally the court would be slow to believe any counter evidence to the effect that he was elsewhere when the occurrence happened. But if the evidence adduced by the accused is of such a quality and of such a standard that the court may entertain some reasonable doubt regarding his presence at the scene when the occurrence took place, the accused would no doubt, be entitled to the benefit of that reasonable doubt. For that purpose, it would be a sound proposition to be laid down that in such circumstances, the burden on the accused is rather heavy. It follows, therefore, that strict proof is required for establishing the plea of alibi. This Court has observed so on earlier occasions (Dudh Nath Pandey vs State of Uttar Pradesh (1981) 2 SCC 166 ; State of Maharashtra vs Narsingrao Gangaram Pimple AIR 1984 SC 63 ).” 27. The appellant has not been able to prove that he was at a marriage function while the incident happened nor has he been able to demonstrate that he was at some other place. The false plea of alibi clearly points towards the guilt of the accused. In this regard, the Hon’ble Supreme Court, in Sahabuddin & Another v. State of Assam, (2013) AIR SCW 817, observed as under: “25. Once, the Court disbelieves the plea of alibi and the accused does not give any explanation in his statement under Section 313 CrPC, the Court is entitled to draw adverse inference against the accused. At this stage, we may refer to the judgment of this Court in the case of Jitender Kumar v. State of Haryana [ (2012) 6 SCC 204 ], where the Court while disbelieving the plea of alibi had drawn an adverse inference and said that this fact would support the case of the prosecution. “51. The accused in the present appeal had also taken the plea of alibi in addition to the defence that they were living in a village far away from the place of occurrence. This plea of alibi was found to be without any substance by the Trial Court and was further concurrently found to be without any merit by the High Court also. This plea of alibi was found to be without any substance by the Trial Court and was further concurrently found to be without any merit by the High Court also. In order to establish the plea of alibi these accused had examined various witnesses. Some documents had also been adduced to show that the accused Pawan Kumar and Sunil Kumar had gone to New Subzi Mandi near the booth of DW-1 and they had taken mushroom for sale and had paid the charges to the market committee, etc. Referring to all these documents, the trial court held that none of these documents reflected the presence of either of these accused at that place. On the contrary the entire plea of alibi falls to the ground in view of the statements of PW-10 and PW-11. The statements of these witnesses have been accepted by the Courts below and also the fact that they have no reason to falsely implicate the accused persons. Once, PW-10 and PW-11 are believed and their statements are found to be trustworthy, as rightly dealt with by the Courts below, then the plea of abili raised by the accused loses its significance. The burden of establishing the plea of alibi lay upon the appellants and the appellants have failed to bring on record any such evidence which would, even by reasonable probability, establish their plea of alibi. The plea of alibi in fact is required to be proved with certainty so as to completely exclude the possibility of the presence of the accused at the place of occurrence and in the house which was the home of their relatives. {Ref. Shaikh Sattar v. State of Maharashtra [ (2010) 8 SCC 430 ]}.” 28. So far as the omissions and contradictions in the statement of the father, mother and brother of the deceased are concerned, while appreciating the evidence of a witness, minor discrepancies on trivial matters without affecting the core of the prosecution case, ought not to prompt the court to reject evidence in its entirety. If the general tenor of the evidence given by the witness and the trial court upon appreciation of evidence forms opinion about the credibility thereof, in the normal circumstances the Appellate Court would not be justified to review it once again without justifiable reasons. It is the totality of the situation. If the general tenor of the evidence given by the witness and the trial court upon appreciation of evidence forms opinion about the credibility thereof, in the normal circumstances the Appellate Court would not be justified to review it once again without justifiable reasons. It is the totality of the situation. which has to be taken note of, and we do not see any justification to pass a contra note, as well, on perusal of the evidence on record. 29. The question for consideration would be, whether learned trial Court is justified in convicting the appellant or not? 30. The Supreme Court, in the matter of Sharad Birdhichand Sarda v. State of Maharashtra (1984) 4 SCC 116 , has clearly laid down the factors to be taken into account in adjudication of cases of circumstantial evidence, which states as under :- “(1) the circumstances from which the conclusion of guilt is to be drawn should be fully established. The circumstances concerned “must” or “should” and not “may be” established; (2) the facts so established should be consistent only with the hypothesis of the guilt of the accused, that is to say, they should not be explainable on any other hypothesis except that the accused is guilty; (3) the circumstances should be of a conclusive nature and tendency; (4) they should exclude every possible hypothesis except the one to be proved; and (5) there must be a chain of evidence so complete as not to leave any reasonable ground for the conclusion consistent with the innocence of the accused and must show that in all human probability the act must have been done by the accused.” 31. Considering the entire circumstances of this case when the parents of the deceased have deposed that the relationship between the appellant and the deceased were strain and she was being taunted for having some defect in one eye, and the fact that the deceased had raised an apprehension on the date of incident itself that she may be murdered by the appellant and further that a false plea of alibi has been taken by the appellant, we do not consider it a fit case to be allowed. 32. 32. In that view of the matter, we are of the considered opinion that chain of circumstances are fully established by the prosecution and as such, the trial Court has rightly held that it is the appellant who has caused death of his wife Poonam Agrawal. We do not find any merit in this criminal appeal. Accordingly, the appeal being devoid of merit is liable to be and is hereby dismissed. 33. The convict/appellant is stated to be in jail. He shall serve out the sentence awarded by the trial Court by means of the impugned judgment and order dated 30.06.2014. 34. Let a certified copy of this order alongwith the original record be transmitted to trial Court concerned for necessary information and action, if any.