ARUN Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) Mohan Singh was killed on 6/11/2009 during the evening hours. F.I.R. No. 458 of 2009 was thereupon registered by his father, Devisingh, on the file of P.S. Kishanpura Ganj, District Indore. The time of registration of the F.I.R. was mentioned therein as 08:30 pm on 6/11/2009 while the time of occurrence of the offence was shown as 06:30 pm on that day. Five men, viz., Arun, Radheshyam, Narendra, Abhay Singh and Ramlal (the last was the only one named as an accused in the F.I.R.) stood trial for the murder of Mohan Singh and other offences. By judgment dtd. 27/6/2013 in Sessions Trial No. 213 of 2010, the learned II Additional Sessions Judge, Mhow, District Indore, held them guilty on all counts. They were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life for the murder of Mohan Singh under Sec. 302 IPC read with Sec. 34 IPC. They were visited with lesser sentences for the other offences along with fines, coupled with default imprisonment.

(3.) Assailing the judgment of the Trial Court, all five of them jointly filed Criminal Appeal No.932 of 2013 before the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Indore. By judgment dtd. 25/1/2024, a Division Bench of the High Court allowed the said appeal insofar as it pertained to Abhay Singh and acquitted him of all charges but dismissed the appeal apropos the remaining four appellants and confirmed their convictions and sentences. Aggrieved thereby, Arun, Radheshyam, Narendra and Ramlal are before us by way of these appeals by special leave.