KALU RAM Vs. STATE OF UTTARANCHAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals, preferred under Section 374(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred as Cr. P.C.), are directed against the judgment and order dated 20.01.1989, passed in Sessions Trial No. 19 of 1988 by the learned Sessions Judge, Pithoragarh whereby, appellant Kalu Ram has been convicted under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred as I.P.C.) and sentenced to imprisonment for life under Section 302 of I.P.C. and directed to undergo rigorous imprisonment of four years under Section 201 of I.P.C.

(2.) We heard learned counsel for the appellant and the learned Government Advocate for the State and perused the entire record.

(3.) Prosecution story, in brief, is that appellant Kalu Ram and his father Himmat Ram used to distill illicit liquor in their house in village Chami, Police Station Askot, District Pithoragarh. Shankar Singh (deceased) resident of the same village used to oppose this. On 28/7/1987, at about 5:00 P.M., Shankar Singh proceeded from his home to purchase tea leaves and sugar candy from nearby village Chhrandev. An hour thereafter, P.W. 1 Km. Bhagirathi and P.W. 3 Motima Devi (both resident of village Chami) saw Shankar Singh sitting with appellant Kalu Ram and his father Himmat Ram, outside their house. Thereafter, Shankar Singh was not seen alive. On 31/7/1987, i.e. about three days after the above incident, when P.W. 2 Bhupendra Singh along with his wife had gone for collecting grass in the nearby forest of Thagulikhola they saw dead body of Shankar Singh lying there. They returned to the village and gave information about the same to P.W. 11 Gopal Singh, Sabhapati of the village, who along with Bhupendra Singh gave information (Ext. A-14) about dead body being found, to the police, on the next day. The place where the dead body was found, was near the house of appellant Kalu Ram and his family. The prosecution case is that on 28/7/1987, Kalu Ram murdered Shankar Singh and, thereafter, he along with other accused persons i.e. his father Himmat Ram, his mother Haruli Devi and his brother's wife Dhana Devi took the dead body to the nearby Thagulikhola forest and threw it there to conceal and make disappear the evidence of the crime. P.W. 4 Lal Singh, father of the deceased, got scribed a detailed First Information Report (Ext. A-1) through P.W. 5 Raghubar Datt on 01.08.1987 and lodged the same with Police Station Askot on the next day i.e. 02.08.1987, which was registered as crime No. 17 of 1987, under Section 302 of I.P.C. A check report (Ext. A-4) was prepared by the Police and an entry was made in the general diary, copy of which is Ext. A-5, on the record. Before that, on receiving report from Gopal Singh, the Police had already taken dead body of Shankar Singh into possession on 01.08.1987 and inquest report (Ext. A-2) was got prepared. The Police made entry in the general diary, a copy of extract of which is Ext. A-3 on the record, regarding said fact. The Police also got prepared sketch of the dead body (Ext. A-9), police form No. 13 (Ext. A-10), letter to the Chief Medical Officer (Ext. A-11) requesting him for getting done autopsy on the dead body. The postmortem examination of the dead body of Shankar Singh was conducted by P.W. 9 Dr. D.K. Sharma on 02.08.1987, who prepared the postmortem examination report (Ext. A-6). In the opinion of the Medical Officer cause of death of Shankar Singh was shock and haemorrhage due to ante-mortem injuries found on his dead body of the deceased. Initially, the crime was investigated by P.W. 10 Sub Inspector Sarfuddin, who recorded the statement of the witnesses and also prepared site plan (Ext. A-7). During investigation P.W. 7 Ratan Ram disclosed to the police that on the next day of the incident i.e. 29.07.1987, appellant Kalu Ram was seen in the Bus bound for Bareilly and appellant Kalu Ram was looking perplexed at that time. P.W. 12 Bahadur Ram, real brother of the appellant Kalu Ram also told the police that his brother had committed murder of Shankar Singh. P.W. 13 Jagdish Pal, the subsequent Investigating Officer, after completion of the investigation submitted the charge-sheet (Ext. A-16) to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Pithoragarh against accused/appellant Kalu Ram and other co-accused namely Himmat Ram, Smt. Haruli Devi and Smt. Dhana Devi, for their trial for alleged commission of the offence punishable under Sections 302 and 201 of I.P.C. by them.