SARNAM AND ANOTHER Vs. STATE OF U.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Sarnam and Ram Dass father and son were found guilty of the offence under Sec. 302, I.P.C. read with Sec. 34, I.P.C. and sentenced to life imprisonment by order, dated 26.9.78, passed by 4th Additional Sessions Judge, Etah, in S.T. No. 485 of 1977. Other accused in the case, namely, Smt. Draupadi, Natthoo Singh and Ram Dass were acquitted. Sarnam has already died during the pendency of the appeal and in so far as it relates to him it has abated, Smt. Narang Shree, daughter of Sri Mahendra Singh, deceased in the case was married to one Ramesh, another son of Sarnam. After the marriage Ramesh got an employment with Army. and had to live there. Smt. Narang Shree had been married for about two years. The allegations in respect of the charges as set out in the first information report, dated 25.3.77, lodged by Kitab Singh, resident of village Belamai were that in the evening of 24.3.77, around 3.00 p.m. Ram Dass sprinkled kerosene oil over Smt. Narang Shree and set her to fire in a room. In the same evening the body of said Narang Shree was put on the pyre, When Data Rain and Ran Singh came to Kitab Singh and conveyed the above said, facts. By the time they could reach back, the body had been reduced to ashes except for a bundle of flesh, which was got taken out and left under the watch of people at the, spot. Since there was some threat on the part of Ram Dass and others, he could come to lodge the F.I.R. only in the morning. The report also conveyed that Ram Dass desired to dishonour Smt. Narang Shree and she had gone to her parents house for that reason and had come back only a month and half before.

(2.) The report was lodged at 11.15 on 25.3.77 as usual the Investigating Officer went to the spot and made an inquest upon the part of the body said to have been taken out of the fire, which was sent for post mortem examination. The post mortem examination which was conducted by P.W. Dr. R.S. Gupta is not of much value as nothing more than the observation that it was a burnt piece of human body could be concluded. Even the sex could not be ascertained.

(3.) During the investigation, it was worked out that in the evening of 29.3.77, Smt. Narang Shree had come out of the house, while her clothes were at fire or atleast in splinters. At that time according to the prosecution story Munshi Lal P.W. 2, Data Ram P.W. 3 and Ran Singh P.W. 4 were sitting at the house of Munshi Lal. Smt. Narang Shree according to these persons during the investigation cried for water, but was pushed back inside the house by Ram Dass and Sarnam, while other ladies of the family kept watching. Since Sarnam threatened these witnesses with dire consequences, they did not interfere at that time.