STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH Vs. UADI SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The State of Madhya Pradesh has preferred this appeal against the judgment of the High Court acquitting the respondent by reversing the judgment of the III Additional Sessions Judge, Bhind whereby he was convicted under Section 302, I.P.C. for committing a string of three murders and Section 307, I.P.C. for attempting to commit a fourth murder. Even here, we are constrained to observe that the High Court has chosen to reject the natural evidence of eye-witnesses on the basis of unwarranted conjectures and surmises.

(2.) The undisputed facts are that three women Ram Piyari, Mathura and Bhagwati were shot dead and Deva daughter of Mathura got injured by gun shots in the night of 6-4-79 and the respondent remained absconding till he surrendered himself on 25-10-81. The parties belong to the village Kakora within the jurisdiction of Lahar Police Station which is at a distance of about nine kilometres. The case of the prosecution is supported by the evidence of P.Ws. 1 to 3, eye-witnesses for the murder of Ram Piyari, P.Ws. 5 and 6, eye-witnesses for the murder of Mathura and P.W. 4, eye-witness for the murder of Bhagwati, P.W. 6 is the daughter of Mathura and she herself received injuries by gun shots. The occurrence was between 8 and 9 p.m. on 6-4-79 and it was reported in the police station around 10.00 a.m. the next day.

(3.) According to P.W. 1 the husband of Ram Piyari, the respondent and his brother Bachoo Singh came with two other persons, when himself and his younger brother Devi Lal (P.W. 2) were sitting on the Chabutra after having dinner at about 8 O'clock in front of their house. The respondent was carrying a Mark-3 gun and his brother was having a lathi. One of the other persons had a mouser gun and the fourth had a lathi. The respondent fired at P.W. 1 and P.W. 2 twice but missed them. Both jumped over the wall of the Chabutra and hid behind the same. On hearing the sound of the gunshot Ram Piyari came out of the house and was going back after shutting the door when the respondent fired one shot which hit her. She fell down dead inside the door. The respondent and his companions went towards house of Chhote P.W. 4. P.W. 2 has also spoken on the same lines as P.W. 1. P.W. 3 is the wife of P.W. 2. According to her she was working with Ram Piyari in the Kitchen and on hearing the sound Ram Piyari came out and she was shot dead when she was trying to go back after closing the door. The evidence given by the aforesaid three witnesses has not been shaken in the cross-examination. Their presence at the place of occurrence is quite natural and the slight differences in the narration are negligible. P.W. 11 Dr. Srivastava has described the injury on the body of Ram Piyari as follows: