MADAN LAL Vs. STATE OF DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants Madan Lal son of Man Chand, Billu son of Gyana, Raj Singh son of Gyana, Sarup Chand son of Gyana and Munshi Ram son of Gyana, all residents of Jhuggis, _Mool Chand Colony, Adarsh Nagar, New Delhi have been convicted under Section 395 IPC and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years and to payment of fine of Rs. 1000/- each. In default of payment of fine they were further directed to undergo simple imprisonment for three months. This order came to be passed on 22nd July 1983-by Shri R.C. Jam, AddI. Sessions Judge, Delhi.

(2.) Standing briefly the prosecution case is that during the month of May 1979 Gopi Chand PW1 was employed as a Chowkidar at house No.M-27. Preetampura, Delhi which house was then under construction. Gopi Chand PW1 along with his sons, Ramesh Chand PW2, Ram Avtar PW3 and Rajinder Pershad PW9 were residing in Jhuggi near the said house. On the night intervening 28/29th May 1979 all the aforesaid four persons were sleeping outside their Jhuggi when at about 2 A.M. eight persons armed with different weapons like knifes and lathis and country-made pistol, over-powered the complainant and his sons and asked them to hand over whatever they were carrying on their persons. Ram Avtar PW3 tried to resist. One of the invaders who was wielding a lathi inflicted a blow on his head and thereafter removed a wrist watch of Henri Sandoz make from the wrist of Ram Avtar and one wrist watch HMT Sona from the wrist of Rajinder PW9. A sum of Rs.300/- was also removed from the pocket of Gopi Chand and all the culprit thereafter escaped from the scene after issuing a threat to Gopi Chand and his sons of dire consequences in case they raised an alarm or tried to follow them. Sometime thereafter Ramesh Chander came across Police party headed by S.I. mehar singh of Police Station Adarsh Nagar who recorded the statement of the complainant on the basis of which a case under Section 395 came to be registered.

(3.) The prosecution case further is that seven persons against whom the charges were. made were apprehended by ,the Police on the night intervening 6/7th August 1979 from a brick kiln (Bhatta) in Mool Chand colony when they were planning and making preparations for committing a dacoity. It is stated that after their arrest in the said case the accused Sarup Chand made a disclosure statement about the, present occurrence of dacoity and pursuant to his disclosure. Sarup Chand also got recovered wrist watch Ex.P-l which had been removed from the wrist of Ram Avtar PW on the night intervening 28/29th May 197q and that all the accused persons were identified by the witnesses in a test identification parade by Gopi Chand PWI, Ram Avtar PW3 Ramesh Chand PW2 and Rajinder Pershad PW9. It may be stated that two of the accused persons Iqbal alias Ram Pal and Dandi Nath absconded during the pendency of the trial and the remaining five accused on conclusion of the trial were convicted and sentenced to the aforesaid imprisonment. Aggrieved appellants have come up with this appeal in which I have heard Chaudhary Amar Singh counsel for all the appellants and Mrs. Bharti Anand on behalf of the State.