SURAJDEO YADAV Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Surajdeo Yadav, the appellant herein, and three others were placed on trial before the Additional Sessions Judge, Aurangabad to answer to common charge under Section 302, IPC read with Section 149, IPC. Against the appellant a separate charge under Section 27 of the Arms Act was also framed. The trial ended with an order of conviction and sentence recorded against the appellant under Sections 302, IPC and S. 27 of the Arms Act and of acquittal in favour of the others. As the appeal presented by the appellant before the High Court was dismissed he has filed the instant appeal, after obtaining special leave.

(2.) According to the prosecution case, on December 31, 1977 at or about 6.30 p. m. when Shamsher Singh, (the deceased) was sitting in the sehan of his house in village Jamhore, within the police station of Aurangabad and gossiping with Balmiki Sharma (PW7), an employee of Magadh Gramin Bank, 5 or 6 persons suddenly came there and one of them, who was carrying a double barrelled gun, fired at Shamsher Singh twice resulting in his instantaneous death. Thereafter the miscreants fled away. After their departure Bhupinder Singh (PW 6), a cousin of Shamser Singh, took the body to Aurangabad Hospital where the police recorded his statement and registered a case against unknown persons. In course of the investigation six persons including the appellant were arrested and placed in test identification parades wherein the appellant was identified by Bhagwan Singh (PW4), Ramalakhan Kumar (PW5), Bhupinder Singh (PW 6), Balmiki Sharma (PW 7), Hari Singh (PW 8) and others as the person who fired at the deceased. On completion of investigation police submitted charge-sheet against all the six arrested. However, before commitment of the case to the Court of Session two of them died.

(3.) The appellant pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against him and contended that he had been falsely implicated on mere suspicion. He further contended that he was known to the witnesses who identified him as he had studied in a school of Jamhore and, therefore, if really he was one of the miscreants the eye-witnesses would have named him.