KANBI BACHU Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal by the accused against their conviction for the offence of murder and robbery by the Sessions Judge of Sorath. The accused were charged with having taken with them the deceased Mulji, a boy aged about 15, on the night of 10 -2 -1952 and then robbed him of gold 'champwas' and 'phools' (ear ornaments) and murdered him on a cart track leading to village Madhopur, at a place about hundred paces from the gate of village Surwa, to which the deceased and the accused belonged. The news of Mulji's death having reached his brother Mohan the next morning information was lodged at the police station at Madhopur. In the course of the investigation that followed accused 2 produced in the afternoon of 12 -2 -1952 the champwas and phools from his house and shortly thereafter accused 1 produced from a dung -hill in the 'Fall' of his house a 'Pachhedi' having blood stains and a hatchet, which had been concealed behind stones under a roof in his 'Fall' and which also was blood stained. The accused were thereupon tried for the abovesaid offences and were convicted and sentenced to transportation for life. No separate sentence for the offence of robbery was awarded by the learned Judge.

(2.) THERE is no doubt that Mulji was robbed of the champwas and phools and murdered on the night of 10 -2 -1952 and this fact has not been disputed for the defence. The deceased lived with his brother Mohan. He was seen wearing the champwas and phools when he went to Talala with a marriage party to attend the wedding of his paternal aunt's son about a fortnight before the offence and he was wearing them since then. That is proved by Anand Bhima the husband of the paternal aunt and by Mohan brother of the deceased. Since then Mulji had kept on wearing these articles. There is also the evidence of his playmates Natha Bhima, Labhu Vashram and Purshotam Jaram, who are boys of the same age as the deceased, that the deceased was seen wearing the champ -was and phools on the night of the 10th February. After the night meal the deceased had gone out to the bazar in the village which his friends and had there taken 'pan' and smoked cigarettes in their company near a water trough outside the village gate. While they were there accused 1 Bachu had come and had gone from there to answer nature's call. In the meantime the deceased and his companions went into the village and were sitting near the village Kotha. Bachu came there shortly thereafter and they took pan and smoked bidis and it is alleged that Bachu had particularly noticed and admired the champwas and phools which the deceased was wearing. It appears that Bachu had then said something to the deceased and they had fixed an appointment to meet later. The deceased and his companions then left the place and while the others went home, the deceased went back, and he and accused 1 Bachu and accused 2 Govind then met and took tea at the tea shop of one Jivram Jeram at about 8 -30 p.m. The three of them left Jivraj's tea shop and some time thereafter they were seen going together by one Mulji Kurji outside the village gate and accused 1 was also seen having an axe. That was the last the deceased Mulji was seen alive.

(3.) THE learned Judge has found, and after going through the evidence on the point we agree with the finding, that the deceased was seen in the company of the two accused at the tea shop of Jivram Jeram on the night of 10th February and was later seen going with the two accused outside the village gate. (After considering the evidence his Lordship concluded:) The evidence in the case, therefore, proves conclusively that both the accused did together rob Mulji of the ornaments in question.