NATTHU SINGH Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appeal challenges the judgment and order dtd. 25/4/2019 passed by the High Court of Allahabad, thereby dismissing the appeal filed by the present appellant and accused No.2-Rajesh, challenging the judgment and order passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Jalaun at Orai (hereinafter referred to as'the trial court') in Sessions Trial No.223/2004, convicting the accused-Rajesh under Sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (for short,'IPC') and sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life with a fine of Rs.20,000.00 and convicting the appellant herein for offences punishable under Sec. 302 IPC read with Sec. 34 IPC and sentencing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life with a fine of Rs.20,000.00.

(2.) The prosecution case, as could be gathered, is that when the deceased Vineet along with PW-1-Rajveer Singh and PW-3-Jitendra Singh were passing through the shop of one Raju Paanwala, four accused persons surrounded them. The present appellant exhorted the accused No.2-Rajesh to kill deceased Vineet, after which the accused No.2-Rajesh fired shots from the double barrel gun upon deceased Vineet, which hit him and he fell down after getting injured and died on the spot.

(3.) Shri R. Basant, learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant, submits that the trial court and the High Court have grossly erred in convicting the appellant and maintaining the same respectively. He submits that the rest of the eye witnesses have turned hostile. Though independent witness i.e. Raju Paanwala, in front of whose shop the occurrence has taken place, was examined by the Investigating Officer (I.O.), he has not been examined as the prosecution witness in the trial. He, therefore, submits that solely on the basis of testimony of PW-3, the conviction would not be sustainable.