DHIRENDRA KUMAR @ DHIROO Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal has been preferred against the judgment and order dated 17th November, 2007 passed by the High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital in Criminal Appeal No.158 of 2007 upholding the conviction of the appellant under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentence to undergo life imprisonment.

(2.) Case of the prosecution is that the appellant caused the death of Surat Singh deceased with a stone at 8.30 P.M. on 1st April, 1983 at Village Jantanwala. On 2nd April, 1983 at 9.05 A.M., Mani Ram father of the deceased (who died during pendency of proceedings before the trial Court) lodged FIR to the effect that on 28th March, 1983, the deceased had gone to the house of the accused to celebrate holi. In the night, the accused came to the house of the complainant to assault the deceased alleging that he had knocked the door of his aunt Kumari Sunita in the night with evil intention when she was alone in her house. With the intervention of Mani Ram and PW 7 Raj Kumari, wife of the deceased, the accused was prevented from dragging the deceased out of the house but the accused left the house with a threat. On 1st April, 1983 when the deceased went to the nearby Dehradun city, he did not return home at the night. In the morning PW2 Lal Singh told him that the deceased was seen with the accused at 7.30 P.M. in the night. Further, Lakhi Ram PW 4 and Bahadur Singh PW 3 told him that the accused was seen beating the deceased with a stone at 8.30 P.M. One Jagdish Singh told him that he had seen the dead body near the bank of the river near the field of Ratan Singh.

(3.) After registering the FIR, the investigation was conducted by SO Rajpal Singh PW 11. Post mortem was conducted by Dr. I.F. Nath PW6. After completing the investigation, the accused was sent up for trial.