RAVINDRA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Ms. Seema Pandey (Amicus Curiae) for the appellant; Sri Amit Sinha, learned AGA and have perused the record.

(2.) This appeal is against the judgment and order of conviction and punishment dtd. 9/11/1993 and 16/11/1993, respectively, passed by III Additional Sessions Judge, Ghaziabad in Sessions Trial No.166 of 1990 whereby the appellant (Ravindra) has been convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC and awarded life imprisonment whereas co-accused Smt. Rajni who was tried for the charge of criminal conspiracy for murder has been acquitted.

(3.) (i) The prosecution case, in brief, is that in the morning of 24/10/1988, at about 7.30 a.m., while Devendra Singh (Informant - PW1), a police constable, was going to attend nature's call, he was informed by one Ram Mehar (PW-2) that, on the road side, in a sewer pit (manhole), a person is lying injured and is groaning. On receipt of the information, PW-1 went to the spot and with the help of PW-2, Sri Chand Chowkidar (not examined) and Prakash Yadav (PW-5) pulled out the person injured from the manhole (sewer pit) and discovered that he was badly injured and his intestine had come out. On being queried, that person disclosed his name (Shiv Kumar Pathak - the deceased), parentage and place of residence. That injured person also stated that "he (the injured), Munna (absconding accused) son of not known, resident of village Tesuwa, police station Faridpur, district Bareilly and Ravindra (the appellant) son of Siya Ram, resident of village Tesuwa, police station Faridpur, district Bareilly, today, in the morning, at about 5.00 a.m., were going to village Barauk to purchase vegetables; Munna (co-accused) owed Rs.500.00 to him (the deceased); he (the deceased) had been requesting Munna to return the money, and when, on way, he (the deceased) made a demand for the money, Munna, all of a sudden, inflicted him (the deceased) a knife blow on his (deceased's) abdomen and Ravindra (the appellant) held him; thereafter, he (deceased) fell unconscious and, later, when he regained consciousness he is feeling the pain" after stating as above, the injured pointed towards his injury. Narrating the aforesaid incident and the statement of the person injured (the deceased) recited above in vernacular, PW1 lodged a written report (Ex. Ka1) at police station Dadri, district Ghaziabad at 7.30 am on 24/10/1988, which was registered as first information report (FIR) (Ex. Ka-2).