BHUPENDRA SINGH Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The four appellants along with 15 others were charged for offences punishable under S. 302 read with S. 149 and also S. 201 read with S. 149, S. 379 read with S. 149 and Ss. 147 and 148 of the Indian Penal Code. The charges were that they were members of an unlawful assembly, in prosecution of the common object of namely to deter Ram Sewak (P.W. 2), from filing the nomination paper for the post of Pradhan Gaon Sabha Tikhra and to commit the murder of his-associates including one Gajendra Singh Yadav (deceased), a resident of village Bibiapur and in furtherance of that common object did commit the murder of the said Gajendra Singh Yadav and further committed rioting, theft of the licensed gun of said Gajendra Singh Yadav and live cartridges belonging to the deceased.They were also charged that in furtherance of the said common object and knowing that the murder of the said Gajendra Singh was punishable with death or imprisonment for life had caused the evidence of the said offence to disappear by scrapping the blood stained earth at the scene of occurrence and burning it and taking away the dead body of Gajendra Singh and thereafter burning it with the intention of screening of evidence.

(2.) The First Additional District and Sessions Judge, Kheri in Sessions Trial No. 264 of 1973 acquitted all the accused persons of all the charges on the ground that there are many infirmities rendering the prosecution evidence unworthy of belief. The State of Uttar Pradesh preferred Criminal Appeal No. 654 of 1974 before the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court. The High Court set aside the acquittal of the first appellant Bhupendra Singh (AI) and convicted him for offence under S, 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to a term of life imprisonment. The High Court also set aside the acquittal of the second, third and fourth appellants (A4, 7. and 8) in part, convicted them under S. 201, I.P.C. and sentenced them to a term of seven years rigorous imprisonment under that section. The acquittal of the appellants under the remaining charges were confirmed. The High Court also acquitted the other 15 appellants of all the charges.

(3.) The prosecution case was that the deceased and Ram Sewak (P.W. 2) who are residents of village Bibiapur along with Tarun Kumar (P.W. 1) son of the deceased, Ram Avtar Yadav (P.W. 3) and their party people came to the village Padaria Tula in a bullockcart on 25-4-1972 for the purpose of filing the nomination papers of Ram Sewak (P.W. 2) for the election of Pradhan of Gaon Sabha. They reached around 10.30 a.m. the Mela Maidan near the compound of school-cumtemple in village Padaria Tula. They left the bullock-cart and the bullocks in a nearby place to the of west the eastern pathway about 50 paces away from the school where the nomination papers had to be filed. Bhupendra Singh, the first accused was also a candidate for the office of Pradhan of Gaon Sabha. He had also come for filing the nomination along with the other accused who were his supporters. On seeing the party of the deceased arrive Bhupendra Singh enquired Ram Sewak (P.W. 2), whether he had come to file a nomination paper against him. At that time Gajendra Singh, deceased intervened and challengingly told the first accused that he should ask him. This resulted in verbal altercation between the first accused and the deceased. The first accused then fired a shot with his rifle at the deceased and on receiving the bullet injury the deceased fell on the ground. The prosecution case further was that six other accused had also guns and they also fired at the deceased. The other accused who were armed with lathis and ballams physically assaulted the deceased. Thereafter, the accused dragged the deceased to a small mound on the west of the scene of occurrence and then loaded the dead body on the trolley of a tractor belonging to the first accused, which had been used by the accused to reach at the scene and which was driven by the first accused and the deceased was taken away. All the accused got into the trolley and shouting loudly that they are going to burn the body and throw its remains in the water drove the tractor towards the north. P. Ws. 1 to 6 are stated to be eye-witnesses to this part of the occurrence. P.Ws. 7, 8, 9 and 10 are stated to have seen the first accused driving the tractor to which the trolley was attached and the three other appellants and 15 or 16 more peoples sitting on the tractor and going towards a rivulet shouting that they are taking the body of Gajendra Singh and that he will be burnt and thrown. into the river. P.W. 10 Lalji also claimed that he saw the burning of the dead body near the river and the ashes thrown in river Suita. Tarun Kumar (P.W. 1) son of the deceased went to his village Bibiapur, wrote the report Ex. Ka. 1 and gave the first information report before the Station House Officer Thana Mira which is about 12 miles from the scene of occurrence at 3.30 p.m. on that day. Rama Nand Tewari (P.W. 17) took up the investigation reached the scene of occurrence at 5.30 p.m. and seized some blood stained earth at a point marked 'A'in the plan and also some ashes, besides 55 pellets wads, teeth and some buttons on the spot under Mahazars which were attested by Rajendra Prasad (P.W. 4) and Durga Prasad (P.W. 5) and another. On the 27th of the April, 1972 he interrogated Asharfi. (P.W. 7), Chhotanney (P.W. 8), Reoti Prasad (P.W. 9) and Lalji (P.W. 10) and accompanied by the ' m he reached the jungle at the outskirts of village Daultapur where he found burnt leaves near a Shisham tree. He seized burnt earth, ashes and burnt pieces of bones under recovery memo in the presence of Rajendra Prasad (P.W. 4) and Durga Prasad (P.W. 5). On the 14th of May, 1972 in village Mudia he interrogated Ram Autar (P.W. 3), Ram Sewak (P.W. 2), Gaua Din (P.W. 6) and others and submitted the charge-sheet on 4th December, 1972.