ASHARFI Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The solitary appellant Asharfi was put on trial by the learned Sessions Judge, Bareilly for committing an offence under Section 302 I.P.C. The appellant was tried with acquitted accused Nanki after being indicted of committing an offence under Section 302/34 I.P.C. But by judgment dated 27.04.1982, it was the appellant who was found guilty of committing the offence under Section 302 I.P.C and after hearing the appellant under Section 235 Cr.P.C, the learned trial Court directed the appellant to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life. The appellant has preferred the present appeal to question the correctness of the findings and appropriateness of the sentence.

(2.) The prosecution case emanates from Ex.- 1, the written report of P.W.-1 Hemraj, who was the full brother of the deceased Mohan. As per the prosecution story, the two brothers were sleeping at the tea-stall run by them in a wooden Jhopari. It is stated that in between 2.00 a.m. and 2.30 a.m. when the informant was fast asleep, he heard the cries of his brother and woke up to find that the present appellant and his father Nanki armed respectively with Garasa and Suja ( a sharp, round, pointed weapon) were attacking with their respective weapons his brother, Mohan. The informant claimed to have identified the two accused in the light of a lantern which was burning there and also stated that he attempted to catch them. However, the two accused made good their escape, but one of the prosecution witnesses, namely, Jhamman, (P.W.-3) who was attracted to the scene of occurrence and was coming with his torch light saw and identified the two accused in flash thereof. P.W.-3 also allegedly attempted to catch the accused, but could not. The informant stated that he came back to his shop and found that his brother Mohan was already dead and he had received injuries in his throat and head and those injuries were bleeding.

(3.) As regards the reason for the commission of offence, it was stated by the P.W. 1 that on 02.07.1980, the present appellant who had also a shop in the vicinity of that of the informant, had taunted at the deceased that his Bhabhi, i.e., the wife of P.W. 1, had run away from his house, as a result of which exchange of abuses ensued between the appellant and the deceased which was witnessed by Jhandu Singh (P.W.-5) and Babu Ram (P.W.-4) and by others also, who had been attracted there to at that particular time.