BHERU LAL Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This judgment will dispose of the Criminal Appeal No. 898 of 2004 filed by three appellants as also the Special Leave Petition filed by the State of Rajasthan against the acquittal of one of the accused who was convicted by the Trial Court but was acquitted by the High Court. The three accused persons, namely, original accused No. 1 Bheru Lal, original accused No. 3, Kailash Chandra and original accused No. 5, Purushottam have come up before us challenging their conviction for various offences including offences under Sections 147, 148, 302 read with Section 149, Indian Penal Code (for short "IPC"), 436 read with Section 149, IPC and confirmed by the High Court. Originally, as many as seven accused persons were tried for all these offences. However, the Sessions Judge convicted in all five accused persons including the present three appellants and two others, namely, Girraj, original accused No. 6 and Gopal, original accused No. 4. The High Court allowed the appeal of accused Girraj and acquitted him. It confirmed the conviction and sentence of the remaining four accused persons. In that, the Court convicted Bheru Lal for the offence under Section 302, IPC simpliciter and for offence under Section 436 read with Section 34, IPC. The remaining three accused were also convicted for the offence under Section 302 and Section 436 read with Section 34, IPC.

(2.) In short, the High Court rejected the offences having been committed by the unlawful assembly and set aside their convictions ordered by the Trial Court which were in the aid of Section 149, IPC and held that the offences were committed in furtherance of the common intention of the accused persons. Out of the four accused persons so convicted, only three have come up before us. Originally, the appeal seems to have been filed on behalf of all the four accused including Gopal but the name of Gopal was thereafter removed from the array of appellants. We enquired from the Registry as to whether Gopal had filed any appeal but we were informed that there was no appeal filed by him. We are, therefore, left with the appeal filed by the three appellants named above.

(3.) Shortly stated the prosecution case is that one Basanti Bai, PW-7 lodged a report with police station Raipur, District Jhalawar on 26.10.1997 at about 4:30 p.m. to the effect that her sons, Shayam Lal and Balkishan were belaboured by the seven accused persons. It was further stated that the appellant Bheru Lal and Kailash Chandra had inflicted sword blows on the left and right hand and neck of Shayam Lal while appellant Purushottam and Gopal gave sword and spear blows, respectively, on the back and head of Balkishan. Thus all the appellants had indiscriminately inflicted injuries on the person of deceased Shayam Lal and Balkishan, while appellant Girraj and Bheru Lal crushed their heads with stones. It was further alleged that after this ghastly incident, the appellants had set at fire the tractor trolley, stack of onion and groundnut. Offence was registered on these basis and after due investigation as many as seven persons came to be charged of offences under Sections 147, 148, 341, 302, IPC and in the alternative Section 302 read with Sections 149, 436, IPC substantively as well as Section 436 read with Section 149, IPC as also Section 435 and 435 read with Section 149, IPC and Section 427 and in the alternative Section 427 read with Section 149, IPC. As has been stated earlier two of the accused persons were acquitted by the Trial Court and now we are left with this appeal at the instance of the three accused.