TULSA RAM Vs. STATE OF UTTARANCHAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BOTH these appeal, preferred under Section 374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred as Code of Criminal Procedure ), are directed against the same judgment and order dated 21.11.2001, passed by Learned Additional Sessions Judge / II F.T.C., Nainital, in Sessions trial No. 480 of 1997, whereby the accused /Appellants Tulsa Ram, Bhupal Ram and Jagdish Arya are convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred as I.P.C.); under Section 364 read with Section 34 of I.P.C. and under Section 333 read with Section 34 of I.P.C. Each one of the convicts (Appellants) is sentenced to imprisonment for life (under Section 302/34 of I.P.C); imprisonment for file (under Section 364/34 of I.P.C.) and rigorous imprisonment for a period of five years, and further directed to pay fine of Rs. 5,000/ - (under Section 333/34 of I.P.C).

(2.) HEARD Learned Counsel for the parties and perused the lower court record.

(3.) THE Magistrate on receipt of the charge sheet, after giving necessary copies to the accused, as required under Section 207 of Code of Criminal Procedure, appears to have committed the case to the court of Sessions, for trial. Learned Sessions Judge, Nainital on 23.02.1998, after hearing the parties, framed charge of offences punishable under Section 364 read with Section 34; 302 read with Section 34; and 333 read with Section 34 of I.P.C., against all the accused namely, Tulsa Ram, Bhupal Ram and Jagdish Arya. The accused pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried. On this, the prosecution got examined RW. 11qba! Chand Batra of 'BatraTransport'; RW. 2 Constable Ram Kishan Singh (an eyewitness); P.W. 3 Sub Inspector Narendra Dev (complainant and eyewitness); P.W, 4 Dr. H.C.S. Koranga (who conducted the postmortem examination); P.W. 5 Virendra Singh (witness of preparation of Inquest report); P.W. 6 Mazhar Nairn (declared hostile); P.W. 7 Constable Ram Singh [who prepared the inquest report and other connected papers (Ext. A -4 to Ext. A -6)]; P.W. 8 Dr. Ajay Mohan of Soban Singh Jeena Base Hospital, Haldwani, where the deceased was taken in an injured condition before his death for treatment); P.W. 9 Head Constable Mahavir Singh (an eyewitness); P.W. 10 Sub Inspector Rajesh Bhartiya (who proved the entries in the general diary and inquest report); P.W. 11 Sub Inspector Jitendra Pal Singh (one of the Investigating Officers); P.W. 12 Sub Inspector Ram Singh Yadav (who took over investigation from the previous Investigating Officer); P.W. 13 Dy. Superintendent of Police Hari Narayan Sharma (since retired) [who further investigated the crime]; and P.W. 14 Dy. Superintendent of Police A.R. Chauhan (who completed the investigation and submitted charge sheet). The oral and documentary evidence was put to the accused under Section 313 of Code of Criminal Procedure, in reply to which they alleged the same to be false. All the three accused pleaded that they have been falsely implicated in the crime. In defence, on behalf of accused D.W. 1 Smt. Radha Rawat, widow of the deceased, and D.W. 2 PC. Bisht, Advocate were got examined, to show that in a Motor Accident Claim Case, the widow of the deceased, had shown it to be a case of accident.