SRI RAM Vs. STATE OF UTTARAKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal against the judgment and order dated 12.7.2002, passed by the then Assistant Sessions Judge (First Fast Track Court), Roorkee District Haridwar in ST No. 68/1992, State Vs. Sriram and Others convicting and sentencing each of the accused appellants to undergo R.I. for five years and to pay fine of Rs. 1000/ -each under Section 304 Part II read with Section 34 I.P.C. In default of payment of fine, the appellants shall undergo for further three months S.I. Each of the appellants were also convicted and sentenced to undergo R.I. for six months u/s 323 r/w 34 I.P.C. However, appellant Pramod was acquitted u/s 307 I.P.C. and the other appellants namely Mohan Sriram and Shyam Lal were acquitted from the charges punishable u/s 307/34 I.P.C. Brief facts of the prosecution case are that accused appellants threw garbage, etc. in the 'gher' of the complainant Ramnath. Seeing this on 14.11.1991 at about 2 p.m., the complainant Ramnath protested the said throwing of garbage to his 'gher'. In retaliation to this, the accused appellants with a common intention came to the house of complainant equipped with conventional weapons. The accused Sriram and Mohan were having laths' in their hands, Shyamlal was having 'saria' in his hand whereas Pramod was having country made pistol in his hand. All the four appellants with a common intention to kill the complainant party assaulted them. The accused Pramod with an intention to kill Ramesh Chandra fired from his country made pistol upon him but he escaped from the said fire. The accused appellants Sriram, Mohan and Shyamlal with an intention to kill Ramnath and Ramesh Chandra, started assaulting them badly with the weapons possessed by them. When Pramod one of the members of the complainant party came at the place of incident to save Ramnath, he, too, was assaulted by the appellants. It is stated that the said incident was seen by Dharam Singh, Anand Prakash and Ramlal. Ramnath, Ramesh and Pramod (complainant party) sustained injuries in the said incident. They were immediately taken to the Roorkee Civil Hospital. Looking to the serious conditions of the injured Ramnath and Ramesh Chandra, the doctors of the Roorkee Civil Hospital referred them to Haridwar Civil Hospital for better treatment. Consequently, they were shifted to Hardwar Civil Hospital. The doctors of the Civil Hospital, Hardwar, looking to the serious conditions of the injured Ramesh Chandra, referred him to the Meerut Medical College, Meerut for better treatment. Ramesh Chandra was taken to Meerut Medical College. Ramnath remained admitted in the Civil Hospital, Hardwar and was discharged from the hospital on 16.11.1991. The injured Ramesh Chandra was operated on 15.11.1991 at Meerut Medical College but his life could not be saved and ultimately, he expired on 16.11.1991 in the Meerut Medical Hospital. The autopsy on the dead body of the deceased Ramesh Chandra was conducted on 17.11.1991 in the Civil Hospital, Meerut itself. In the meantime, Manoj Kumar, son the deceased Ramesh Chandra who is said to have been staying with the injured Ramnath at Civil Hospital, Hardwar, went to police station Manglore on 15.11.1991 to lodge the report of the incident. Before he could reach the police station Manglore, the accused appellants Sriram and Mohan met him on the way to the police station and threatened to kill him if he would report the matter to the police. Thereupon, the complainant Manoj Kumar went to the Roorkee Court where he filed an application under Section 156(3) Cr.P.C. narrating the entire incident to the Magistrate who was having the jurisdiction of the area. Thereafter, the learned Magistrate directed the police to register the case and investigate the matter. The investigation was started immediately after lodging report on 16.11.1991 at the police station and the case was also converted under Section 304 I.P.C. at the police station due to the demise of the deceased Ramesh Chandra at the Meerut Medical College. The Investigating Officer after completing the investigation submitted the chargesheet against the accused appellants.

(2.) AFTER submission of the chargesheet, the accused appellant were committed to the court of Sessions by the learned Magistrate and the trial court after hearing the parties framed charges against the accused appellants. The accused appellants denied the charges levelled against them and claimed to be tried for the offences.

(3.) THE accused appellants were examined under Section 313 Cr.P.C. and they have denied all the averments made in the evidence and they have stated that they have been falsely implicated in the case and the first information report has been lodged against them with false allegations. The appellants did not adduce the defence evidence in support of their case.