MANUA @ PURAN Vs. STATE OF UTTARANCHAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) APPELLANTS , namely, Manua @ Puran, Ramu, Mathu @ Jagdish, all real brothers, who have been convicted under Section 304/ 34 IPC by the learned Sessions Judge, Dehradun vide his judgment and order dated 23.9.2002, passed in Sessions Trial No. 86/1997, have preferred this appeal. For the said offence, each one of them has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years and a fine of rupees two thousand. In default of payment of fine, further six months' rigorous imprisonment has been imposed. The alleged incident happened in the intervening night of 12/ 13.2.1997 at about 10.45 pm. Fifteen days prior to the incident, deceased Padam Singh, aged 34 years, had sold a watch to Manua @ Puran for Rs. 500/ -. Eventually, the accused Manua did not like the watch. So, he went to the house of Padam Singh, which was in the close vicinity of his own residence, and asked him to take his watch back. Thereafter he went back. Immediately after sometime, Padam Singh came to the house of the accused persons, and this small issue turned into altercations, which ultimately escalated into the scuffle. All three accused persons began to assault Padam Singh and finally pushed him forcibly into an empty canal situated at the back of the deceased. As stated in the FIR, one of the accused Mathu @ Jagdish gave a blow of heavy stone on the head of Padam Singh, who had fallen down in a blank canal, and thus made him mortally wounded. After committing the crime, all the accused persons took to their heels from the spot. Padam Singh became badly injured. On noticing the incident, his father Roop Singh Shahi along with his son -in -law Ramesh Chand Chhetri came there. They shifted the severely injured Padam Singh to the Doon Hospital, but soon after the latter succumbed to his injuries.

(2.) FIR Ex. A -1 was lodged by Roop Singh Shahi (PW 2) in the same intervening night at 1.15 hours. Chick report is Ex. A -5. The inquest report Ex. A -8 was prepared in the mortuary of Doon Hospital. Inquest proceedings commenced at 9 am and continued till 11.30 am. All the witnesses of inquest opined that the cause of death is the injuries suffered by the deceased. Post -mortem was conducted by PW 6 Dr. B.L. Verma on the same day i.e. on 13.2.1997 at 3.30 pm and thereafter he prepared the post -mortem report Ex. A -4. He noted following ante mortem injuries on the dead body of the deceased:

(3.) PW 1 Vijay Singh, an eyewitness, did not name any of the three charged accused persons, rather he named another person Kale @ Kalu as the real assailant. So, on the application moved under Section 319 CrPC, the Court summoned Kale @ Kalu and levelled the charge under Section 304/ 34 IPC against him. Consequently, PW 1 Vijay Singh was again summoned and thereafter his evidence was completed.