STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH Vs. GAYA PRASAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a State Appeal filed against the verdict of acquittal dated 23-3-1978 passed by Sri S.N. Saxena, the then III Additional District and Sessions Judge, Barabanki, thereby acquitting the accused respondents of the charges under Ss. 147, 148, 302, 307 and 149 IPC.

(2.) The facts giving rise to this appeal may be recapitulated as below :-

(3.) All the accused at trial pleaded not guilty and their defence version was that about a year before this occurrence, Shiv Kumar, Ram Kumar, Ram Jus, Satya Narain and Gaya Prasad were prosecuted under S. 307 IPC on the charge of having made an attempt on the life of Govind, the brother of the deceased Sharda Prasad and it was on account of this enmity and ill will between the aforesaid person on one side and Govind and his brother Sharda Prasad on the other that they had been falsely prosecuted alongwith others in this case. Accused Gaya Prasad, however, stated that on the date of occurrence, he heard some hue and cry, attracted by which he went near the site of occurrence and found that Head Constable Sheo Kumar Lal and Constable Mehmood Khan were firing shots from their rifles upon Jamuna Prasad and Maya Ram. He immediately rushed back to protect himself from any injury in the said brawl. He added further that constable Mehmood Khan had a glance of him and, therefore, he had exhorted his fellow constables to kill him also as he (Gaya Prasad) had once assaulted a police constable, namely, Toofani. He however, made good his escape.