SURENDRA TIWARI Vs. STATE OF M P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CRIMINAL Appeal No. 1578/1996 filed by Surendra Tiwari; CRIMINAL Appeal No. 1694/1996 filed by Baliram Singh and Sanjay Kumar Singh; CRIMINAL Appeal No. 1736/1996 filed by Surendra Singh and Devmuni Bai; CRIMINAL Appeal No. 1738/1996 filed by Raviranjan Kumar Singh; CRIMINAL Appeal No. 1884/1996 filed by Mohan Singh and CRIMINAL Appeal No. 2347/ 1996 filed by Raj Kumar alias Shivji Singh, Gouri Shankar Singh, Devendra Kumar Singh and Arvind Singh are being disposed of by this common judgment, as all these appeals are arising out of the judgment dated 9-9-1996 passed by the 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Ambikapur, in Sessions Trial No. 245/95 and also arising out of the same incident dated 28-4-1995, whereby a dacoity was committed in Bank of Baroda, Branch : Devi Ganj Road, Ambikapur.

(2.) THE accused/Appellants have preferred these criminal appeals questioning legality and correctness of the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 9-9-1996 passed by the 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Ambikapur, in Sessions Trial No. 245/95, whereby learned Additional Sessions Judge convicted and sentenced them as under : Name of the accused Offence under which convicted Sentences imposed Raj Kumar Singh, Gouri Shankar Singh, Arvind Singh, Devendra Singh and Raviranjan Singh Section 450 of the IPC Section 395 read with Section 397 of the IPC Section 120-B of the IPC Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act R.I. for 10 years each. Life imprisonment to each of the accused. Life imprisonment to each of the accused. R.I. for 3 years to each of the accused under each head. Surendra Singh and Sanjay Singh Section 120-B of the IPC Section 412 of the IPC Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act Life imprisonment to each of the accused. Life imprisonment to each of the accused. R.I. for 3 years to each of the accused under each head. Mohan Singh, Baliram Singh and Devmuni Bai Surendra Tiwari Section 120-B of the IPC Section 412 of the IPC Section 120-B of the IPC Section 201 of the IPC Life imprisonment to each of the accused. Life imprisonment to each of the accused. Life imprisonment. R.I. for 3 years. Learned Additional Sessions Judge further directed that all the sentences awarded to each accused shall run concurrently and also directed that the detention period of each accused shall be set of against the sentences imposed upon them.

(3.) BY coincidence, Head Constable Saeed Hussain (P.W. 5) was present at Gyanoday Stationery bookshop to purchase a diary. When he heard noise in the Bank, he stopped his scooter and saw that two persons were coming out of the Bank firing shots from their country made pistols and sat on a motorcycle, in the mean time, third person also came, he also sat on the motorcycle and fled away from the scene of occurrence on a motorcycle. Saeed Hussain chased them on scooter. At Sangam Chowk, he got a jeep of Supply Department of the Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, he stopped the jeep, sat in the driver seat and started chasing the dacoits by the said jeep towards Mannendragarh Road. One Ganesh Singh (P.W. 7) was also in the jeep. When the accused persons reached near Punjab Garden, they fired a shot on the jeep with the country made pistol, which hit in between both the headlights of the jeep. The accused persons took turn on a Kacha road going towards Village : Mahavirpur. After some distance, the motorcycle slipped and all the three accused persons fell down and started running on foot towards the forest. In the mean time, the Gypsy jeep of the Superintendent of Police, Ambikapur also came and Saeed Hussain apprised him about the location of the accused persons. The accused persons, who were sitting on the motorcycle, were Raj Kumar Singh, Arvind Singh and Devendra Singh.