STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH Vs. SHISHUPALSINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) - The State of U. P. feeling aggrieved by the judgment of the High Court of Allahabad rendered in Criminal Appeal No. 1244 of 1975 allowing the appeal by setting aside the judgment of the trial Court convicting the respondent-accused under S. 302. I.P.C. and sentencing him to imprisonment for life.

(2.) Before the trial Court, this respondent and four others (since acquitted) took their trial on the allegation that on 6th March, 1973 at about 12 noon within the premises of BN Hostel, Agra College, all of them formed themselves into an unlawful assembly each armed with a deadly weapon and that the respondent herein caused the death of the deceased by name Bhagwan Das Sharma by shooting him with a country-made pistol.

(3.) It is a very unfortunate and pathetic incident in which the life of a student had been done away with by another group of students on an unpleasant incident of eve-teasing of a girl student of the college. It is still more painful that none of the students has come forward to speak about the truth of the incident before the Court despite the fact that four witnesses have been examined who were all college students. It is also very unhappy to note that even Ms. Asha Yadav, the girl student of the college who was the target of eve-teasing also has not supported the prosecution version. The only piece of evidence on the basis of which the prosecution had attempted to establish its case is the alleged dying declaration given by the deceased before PW 3, a Judicial Magistrate in the presence of the Medical Officer. The trial Court convicted the respondent only on the basis of the dying declaration but the High Court for the reasons assigned in its judgment was not inclined to place reliance on the dying declaration and consequently acquitted the respondent disbelieving the dying declaration on entertaining a suspicion with regard to the identity of the respondent as the assailant.