BANSHILAL Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Since Criminal Appeal No. 1887 of 2000 filed by accused/appellant Banshilal and Criminal Appeal No. 55 of 2001 filed by Murlimanohar are arising out of the same judgment and relate to the same incident, therefore, these appeals are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) Both the accused persons are real brothers of the deceased. The accused/appellants have preferred these appeals being aggrieved by the judgment of conviction and sentence dated 30-5-2000, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Janjgir in Sessions Trial No. 456 of 1998 by which the learned Additional Sessions Judge after holding the accused/appellant Banshilal guilty of the offences under Sections 302 and 323 of the Indian Penal Code and Murlimanohar for the offence under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Penal Code sentenced each of them to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000.00 in default of payment of fine to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for two months and to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months and to pay a fine of Rs. 500.00 in default of payment of fine to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for one month and imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000.00 in default of payment of fine to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for two months, respectively.

(3.) Factual scenario giving rise to these appeals is as follows :-- On 2-7-1998 at about 8.30 P.M. Hiralal (since deceased) was fencing his kitchen-garden; at that time accused/appellant Murlimanohar came there and objected Hiralal not to fence the kitchen-garden. On this, some altercation took place between them, as per the First Information Report (Ex. P-15), hearing the altercation between the two brothers, the third brother namely accused/appellant Banshilal came there carrying axe in his hand and attacked Hiralal with the axe on the left side of his head, as a result of which blood started oozing out of the injury caused on the head thereafter Banshilal also assaulted Hiralal from the wooden portion of the axe on the left leg, back and right shoulder. After sustaining the injuries Hiralal fell down. The occurrence was witnessed by Sadhmati (P.W. 1) wife of Hiralal, Hiramati (P.W. 8) mother of Hiralal and Mehtreen wife of one Johan Gond. The matter was reported to the Police by injured Hiralal himself at about 9.00 P.M. The Officer-in-Charge of Janjgir Police Station registered the First Information Report (Ex. P-15) for the commission of the offence punishable under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code. The Investigating Officer immediately sent Hiralal for medical examination where Dr. S.N. Jangade, Medical Officer, District Hospital, Janjgir examined injured Hiralal and prepared report (Ex. P-8). He also examined Sadhmati and prepared report (Ex. P- 9). In the opinion of the doctor the injury was serious in nature. Therefore, he referred injured Hiralal to the District Hospital, Bilaspur where Hiralal succumbed to the injuries on 11-7-1998 after nine days of the occurrence. Dr. G.P. Naidu (P.W. 13) sent a Merg intimation (Ex. P-12) to the police station, upon which the offence was converted into one under Section 302 of the Penal Code. Dr. K.K. Shukla (P.W. 15) conducted the post-mortem on the dead body of Hiralal and prepared report (Ex. P-15) in which mentioned that cause of death was head injury. The Investigating Officer prepared the Panchanama (Ex. P-3) of the dead-body of the deceased. Axe -- weapon of offence was taken into possession by the Investigating Officer at the instance of accused/appellant Banshilal. The Investigating Officer also took into possession the plain soil and the blood stained soil from the place of occurrence. He also took into possession the clothes of the deceased and the accused/appellant Banshilal.