RAHUL KUMAR YADAV Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Criminal Appeal No. 177 of 2018 : This appeal is preferred by the appellant-Rahul Kumar Yadav assailing the judgments dtd. 30/4/2014 and 29/6/2017 passed by the learned Division Bench of Patna High Court in Criminal Appeal No. 518 of 2013.

(2.) The appellant and the co-accused were tried by the learned first Additional Sessions Judge, Darbhanga(hereinafter being referred to as the 'trial Court') in Sessions Trial No. 441 of 2011 for the offences punishable under Ss. 302 and 394 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860(hereinafter being referred to as 'IPC') and Sec. 27(2) of the Arms Act, 1959. The trial Court, vide judgment dtd. 9/4/2013, convicted the appellant and the co-accused for the offences stated above and qua the charge under Sec. 302 IPC, awarded death sentence to them.

(3.) The accused assailed the said judgment by filing an appeal before the Patna High Court. A reference under Sec. 366 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 was also made by the trial Court for confirmation of the death sentence. The learned Judges of the Division Bench of the Patna High Court, gave a split opinion vide judgment dtd. 30/4/2014 with one of the learned judges opining that the appeal was devoid of merit and other learned judge opining that the appeal deserves to be allowed and the accused were entitled to be acquitted by giving them the benefit of doubt. In view of the difference of opinion between the learned Judges of the Division Bench, the matter was referred to the third learned Single Judge of the Patna High Court who dismissed the appeal vide judgment dtd. 29/6/2017 but commuted the death sentence awarded to the appellant and the co-accused to life imprisonment.