LALIT @ MONTU Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Convicted for offences punishable under Sections 328/379/34 Penal Code Lalit @ Montu challenges the impugned judgment dated 23rd Sept., 2015 and the order on sentence dated 30th Sept., 2015 directing him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of three and a half years and to pay a fine of Rs. 3,000.00 for the offence punishable under Sec. 328 Penal Code and rigorous imprisonment for a period of three years and to pay a fine of Rs. 3,000.00 for the offence punishable under Sec. 379 IPC. Since the convict Pappu @ Amrish has not preferred any appeal, this Court is only concerned with the appeal of Lalit @ Montu.

(2.) Assailing the conviction, learned Counsel for Lalit @ Montu submits that the motorcycle on which the two convicts came has not been recovered. Apart from the two convicts, there was one more person who had offered lichi juice to PW-1 Farid. However, neither was he interrogated nor charge-sheeted nor summoned as an accused. No statement of person from whose cart Farid ate momos has been recorded. Farid stated that he was not taken anywhere for the investigation. Thus no pointing out was done by PW-1, hence the memos are false and fabricated. Defence evidence has not been considered by the learned Trial Court. PW-13 SI Sumit Kumar states that there was recovery of three strips of Lorazepam tablets Larpose-2 however, Ex. PW-13/B mentions that only 2 tablets were recovered. Alternatively, it is prayed that since the appellant has already undergone nearly 2 years, he be released on the period already undergone.

(3.) Learned APP for the State on the other hand submits that insofar as the recovery of Lorazepam tablets Larpose-2 is concerned, the same has been proved by the seizure memo Ex. PW-7/H and the FSL report Ex. PW-14/L. Name of the third person who offered the juice was mentioned in the disclosure statement and PW-14 SI Jai Prakash in his deposition stated that he tried to search the third person but could not find him. Farid was consistent in his statement with respect to the allegations leveled against the two convicts. Version of Farid with regard to unconsciousness and being drugged is proved by the presence of drug in gastric lavage duly corroborated by the MLC and the FSL report. The recovery of battery operated rickshaw has been proved by PW-7 Ct. Rajesh Kumar, PW-9 HC Bhuvan Chandra, PW-10 Ct. Sita Ram and PW-13 SI Sumit Kumar. Version of the defence witnesses is highly unreliable and doubtful as they state that the convicts were arrested on 31st July, 2013, however Farid was not fit for statement on that day and his statement was recorded on 1st Aug., 2013 for the first time and only thereafter, the FIR was registered.