MOHAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF U. P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order passed by the Allahabad High Court in Criminal Appeal No.754 of 1978. The High Court confirmed the conviction of the appellant u/s. 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) The appellant was tried with four other accused for the murder of Vijay Singh, son of Jang BahadurSingh of village Burchuni. All the five accused, because of previous enmity, were alleged to have gone to the house of Vijay Singh on 7.7.1976 at about 3.30 p.m. They then climbed over the varandah of his house where Vijay Singh was lying on a cot. They first abused him. Thereafter, some of them exhorted Mohan Singh, the appellant to kill him as he was the root of all the litigation. Thereupon, the appellant fired a shot from his gun which hit Vijay Singh on his chest. Chandrakali PW 3, mother of Vijay Singh who was sitting in the kitchen about 10 feet away from the cot of the deceased raised an alarm as a result of which Man Singh, PW2 and Pratap Singh, PW4 came there running. They saw the accused running away from the roof.

(3.) In the Trial Court, the prosecution had examined these three witnesses. The Trial Court found the evidence of PW3, Chandrakali fully reliable. The Trial Court also found that her evidence received support from the evidence of the other two witnesses who had been the accused running away soon after the commission of crime and stood corroborated by the medical evidence. However, it gave benefit of doubt to the other four accused on the ground that the possibility of their being falsely implicated could not be ruled out in view of the enmity between the parties.