MANNA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants Manna, Munai and Ram Prasad have been found guilty under Sections 460 / 201 I.P.C. by learned II Additional Sessions Judge, Hardoi in S.T. No. 223/80 vide judgment and order dated 11.12.1981. Each of the appellant has been sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 460 I.P.C. and 5 years R.I. for the offence under Section 201 I.P.C. They have also been sentenced to pay fine.

(2.) Brief facts of the case are that the deceased Ramghulam, was a resident of village Gogadeo where he lived in his own house. The wife of Ramghulam had died during his life time and he had only one issue, a daughter, who was already married some 12 years ago from the date of incident. In these circumstances the deceased Ramghulam was living all alone in his residential house. The house of the appellant Manna was adjacent to the house of the deceased. The complainant of this case is one Chhotey Lal who is a cousin of the deceased and he was living in the same village and his residence was at a distance of some 40 paces from the house of deceased. The deceased carried on grain and money lending business. The appellants Manna and Munai are real brothers. Their mother and wife of deceased Ramghulam were cousin sisters. For that reason the deceased had once expressed his eagerness to give his property to the accused Manna. After a few years, when deceased found that the character of Manna was not good, he changed his idea of giving his property to him and further expressed a desire to give his entire properties to his daughter Smt. Sonkali. Since the house of the complainant Chhotey Lal was not far away from the house of the deceased and the deceased was living all alone in his house, the latter used to visit the residence of former very often. On 19.8.1979 at about 8.00 P.M. the complainant Chhotey Lal was informed by Ramesh, Nanhe Singh and Sheopal that the accused appellants Manna, Munai and Ram Prasad alongwith 3 other accused persons named in the F.I.R. were getting loaded gunny bags full of grains belonging to the deceased, on a truck. The grain bags were taken out from the residence of the deceased but neither he nor his daughter Son Kali was present there. Ramesh, Nanhe and Sheopal asked the accused as to why they were carrying the grain bags but they did not reply. They also did not answer the queries put to them regarding whereabouts of the deceased. Therefore, the trio got suspicious, went to the residence of the complainant and narrated to him everything they had seen. An alarmed complainant alongwith Ramesh, Nanhe Singh and Sheopal came to the residence of deceased where he found that the truck had already left that place and the main door of the house of the deceased was found locked from outside. Since the complainant failed to trace out the key, he managed to get a ladder and by scaling the wall of the house of the deceased, got inside. He found there that all the household articles were scattered and it was giving an appearance that a loot or theft had taken place in that house. The deceased Ramghulam was not found inside the house. The complainant went to the police station the next morning and lodged an F.I.R. On inquiry it was found that the deceased was not seen in his village since last 5 ? 6 days. Sonkali was informed of the incident who came to her father's house. She too had no information about the whereabouts of her father. During the course of investigation the I.O. arrested the accused Munai who, when interrogated, delivered the key of the main door of the house of the deceased. On further interrogation he admitted that he alongwith co-accused killed Ramghulam and thereafter stole utensils, ornaments, food grains and other articles from the house of the deceased. The appellant Munai further informed the police that bags of grains were taken away by rest of the appellants to Lucknow in order to sell the same. The I.O. rushed to Lucknow and on 20.3.1979 he arrested the appellants Manna and Ram Prasad who were trying to sell the bags containing grains. All the bags bore name of the deceased. The I.O. recovered 56 bags Arahar and one bag full of mustered from the possession of these two appellants. The I.O. also succeeded in tracing the truck and its driver. The driver has been produced as a witness in this case. When the appellants Manna and Ram Prasad were interrogated they also admitted that they alongwith Munai had eliminated Ram Gulam and after killing him they had dumped his dead body in the nearby river after tying the same with two pitchers with a view that the dead body would settle down at the bottom of the river due to the weight of the pitchers and the water filled in it. On the pointing out of Manna on 21.3.1979 the dead body of the deceased was recovered from the river. It was identified by the daughter of the deceased. The post mortem was conducted and a report was prepared.

(3.) After concluding his investigation, the I.O. submitted a charge-sheet in the court of learned Magistrate against all 6 accused persons named in the F.I.R. including the appellants.