SONE LAL Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal under the provisions of the Supreme Court. (Enlargement of Criminal Jurisdiction) Act and S.379 of the code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The appellants Sone Lal, Ram Swaroop Chamar, ram Swarup Ahir, Sheo Ram and Dularey have been convicted under Sec. 302/149 Indian Penal Code and sentenced to life imprisonment and to various terms of imprisonment under Ss. 147, 148,323/149, 324/149, 307/149, 364/149 and 201, I. P. C. The conviction and sentences imposed on the appellants are detailed in the judgment of the High Court and need not be repeated here.

(2.) This unfortunate case in which two innocent persons have lost their lives and one was abducted for being murdered appears to be an outcome of a serious and long standing enmity between the appellants and the deceased and P. W. Jeet. A detailed narrative of the prosecution case is contained in the judgment of the courts below ant it is not necessary for us to repeat the same all over again.

(3.) Suffice it to say, that on the night between 15/16th November, 1966 the appellants variously armed with Banka, Ballam, Gun and lathi raided the house of P. W. 9 Jeet of Lachchi Khera, assaulted him and killed two of his sons, namely. Rampal and Babu. They also abducted Debi Sahai and carried Debi Sahai along with the corpses of the deceased Babu and Rampal in a bullock cart with a view to dispose of the dead bodies and obliterate all traces of the murders. On an alarm being raised a number of persons from the neighbouring village arrived at the scene of occurrence but so desperate were the accused that they kept those persons at bay and did not allow them to interfere with the nefarious act perpetrated by the accused. It was only after the accused left with the corpses and Debi Sahai in a bullock cart that the villagers organised search parties in order to find out the place where the dead bodies had been kept or Debi Sahai was confined. It was also alleged by the prosecution that at the time of the occurrence a lantern was burning in the house of Jeet and the villagers also had electric torches which they were flashing off and on and it was in the light of these objects that the witnesses of the prosecution had identified the appellants. One of the accused Raj Kumar was absconding so his trial was segregated and is still pending.