JAI PAL Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants and one Seti Lal were charged for offences punishable under Sections 302 and 307 read with Section 149, IPC before the II Additional Sessions Judge, Mainpuri, U. P. The trial Court having found them guilty of the said offence, they were sentenced to undergo life imprisonment for the offence under Section 302 read with Section 149, IPC. They were also found guilty of the offence punishable under Section 307 read with Section 149 and were sentenced to undergo RI for 7 years. They were further sentenced to undergo 2 years RI under Section 148, IPC. The learned Sessions Judge directed the sentences to run concurrently.

(2.) The said accused persons preferred Criminal Appeal No. 993 of 1980 before the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad. During the pendency of the appeal, the fourth accused Seti Lal died and the appeal abated so far as he was concerned. The High Court concurring with the findings of the Courts below dismissed the said criminal appeal, consequent to which the appellants are before us in this appeal. Brief facts necessary for disposal of this appeal are as follows :-

(3.) Deceased Raghubir Singh was a witness in a murder case in which these appellants were accused persons. On 4-10-1977, when the deceased along with PW. 1 and two others by name Deputy Singh and Onkar Singh were returning from the Court at about 5.30 p.m. to their village, near a Peepal tree at the distance of about one furlong from the village, the appellants along with some other persons all wearing police uniform came armed with guns and rifles and started shooting at Raghubir Singh and others, consequent to which Raghubir Singh fell down dead while PW-1 Mahesh Babu sustained an injury on his hand. The other two were not injured. It is the prosecution case that PW-1 and the other two persons accompanying the deceased got scared and ran away and a complaint in regard to this incident was lodged at about 9.20 p.m. in the Police Station at Ekka. Based on the complaint given by Mahesh Babu (PW. 1) Ex. Ka-1 was registered by PW-8, the Investigating Officer, who then left for the place of occurrence but he did not find the dead body of the deceased. It is stated that on the next day, a headless body of Raghubir Singh was found near Arind river, PW-8 states that he on that day recorded the statement of witnesses and went to the place of incident and conducted spot Mahazar and he recovered 6 empty cartridges of 30 carbine, 8 empty cartridges of 315 bore rifle and 5 empty cartridges of 12 bore. He also states that he collected the blood stained and plain earth from the scene of occurrence. On completion of the investigation, a charge-sheet Ex. Ka-15 was submitted against the four named accused and another Sajjan. However, since the said Sajjan could not be traced, his case was separated from the rest of the identified accused and the II Additional Sessions Judge Mainpuri after trial convicted the accused persons, as stated above.