OM PARKASH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) APPELLANTS Mahender Singh Dahiya s/o Dariyao Singh (A -1); Mahender Singh s/o Kanwal Singh (A -2); Rajroop (A -3) ; Om Parkash (A -4); Ravinder Kumar (A -5); Narender (A -6) and Depender (A -7) have filed the above separate appeals to impugn a judgment dated 18.03.2002 of learned Additional Sessions Judge in Sessions Case No.638/96 arising out of FIR No.64/89 under Sections 148/149/308 IPC registered at Police Station Mehrauli by which they were held guilty for committing offences under Section 148 IPC and under Section 308 IPC read with Section 149 IPC. By an order dated 17.04.2002, they were sentenced to undergo RI for three months under Section 148 IPC and RI for one year under Section 308 read with Section 149 IPC. Both the sentences were to operate concurrently. It is relevant to note that one Ashok Kumar s/o Tolram was also charge -sheeted along with the appellants, however, he absconded during trial and was declared Proclaimed Offender as per order dated 23.11.1996.

(2.) BRIEFLY stated, the prosecution case as projected in the charge -sheet was that on 12.3.1989 at about 12.00 noon, the complainant Sudhir Singh, his father, brother and sister -in -law were sitting in their gher . About 15/20 persons including the accused came and started demolishing the wall of their gher . When the complainant and his relations objected to that, the assailants entered inside the gher and started beating them with lathis and stones. Some of the assailants were armed with pistols and guns. They criminally intimidated the complainant and his relations. It is alleged that accused Mahender Singh took gun from one of the assailants and fired twice or thrice and the bullet hit right thigh of his brother. His sister -in -law sustained injuries on her head and other body parts. His father and another sister -in -law also received injuries. The complainant sustained stone blow on his face and lathi blow on his right shoulder. Police arrived at the spot and took the injured to the hospital. The injured were medically examined. FIR was lodged with the police. Statements of witnesses conversant with the facts were recorded. After completion of investigation, a charge -sheet was filed against all the appellants and one Ashok Kumar in the court. The prosecution examined ten witnesses to establish their guilt. In 313 statement, the appellants denied their involvement in the crime and pleaded false implication. The trial resulted in their conviction as aforesaid. Being aggrieved and dissatisfied, the appeals in hand have been instituted.

(3.) DURING the pendency of the appeals, Om Prakash s/o Mahipat Ram (appellant in Crl.A.No.408/2002) (A -4), Mahender Singh Dahiya S/o Dariyao Singh (A -1) and Rajroop s/o Udai Singh (A -3) (appellants in Crl.A.No.423/2002) expired. The proceedings against them were dropped as abated.