ROTASH Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant is before us aggrieved by and dissatisfied with a judgment of conviction and sentence passed by a Division Bench of Rajasthan High Court, Bench at Jaipur in D.B. Criminal Appeal No.765 of 1999. He was proceeded against for commission of murder along with one Pitram, his brother-in-law. Pitram, accused No. 1 (A.1, Mali Ram, the first informant (P.W.1) and Moosaram are brothers. Mooli Devi is their mother. A First Information Report was lodged at about 9.30 p.m. on 13.10.1996 in relation to an incident which took place at the Dhani of Mali Rams father, which is situated on Bhudoli Road, whereat, allegedly, the said Pitram committed murder of the said Moosaram at about 8 p.m. on the same day.

(2.) P.W.1, in his First Information Report, alleged that he and the deceased carried some household articles from town Neem Ka Thana and went to their fathers Dhani. They stopped there, talked to their mother and left for their Dhani at Lambawali. When they reached the field of Darogas, they heard shouting of their mother, whereupon they started running, sensing that they would be attacked. Moosaram was then attacked by 4-5 persons. It was alleged that Pitram, A.1, his brother, who at the relevant time had been working at Jaisalmer in Border Security Force, having bakda in his hand attacked the deceased, as a result whereof he fell down, whereafter his associates started assaulting him with respective weapons in their hands. Moosaram shouted at his brother to save him. He ran and hid himself in the crops. The accused and his associates searched for him with torches in their hands, but because of shoutings of Moosaram they fled away.

(3.) He reached the police station immediately after the occurrence. The investigation was started by P.W.17-Surendra Kumar Bhati. It is not in dispute that P.W.6-Mooli Devi, mother of the deceased as well had sustained injuries. The Investigating Officer came to the place of occurrence and prepared a rough site plan on the basis whereof later a scaled site plan was prepared. He collected blood stained soil and ordinary soil from the place of occurrence, prepared memo, obtained signatures of the witnesses thereupon. He also prepared Panchayatnama of the deceased Moosaram. He also seized the blood stained clothes of Moosaram. He recorded the statements of witnesses Mahavir, Mali Ram, Mooli Devi and Khyali Ram on the same day. It appears that apart from P.Ws. 1 and 2, two other witnesses, namely, P.W.8-Khyaliram and P.W.9-Sarjeet Singh were eye-witnesses. However, their statements were recorded later.