KAMTA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ELEVEN persons, namely, Kamta, Bind Basni, Sheetla Prasad, Sankatha Jawahar Lal, Shanker, Ram Sajeewan, Mata Pher, Onkar Nath, Nageshwar and Raj Deo were tried by the Additional Sessions Judge, Rae Bareli in Sessions Trial No. 131 of 1978, for offences punishable under Sections 302/149 IPC. In addition, Kamta was tried for the offence punishable under Section 148 IPC and the remaining persons for that punishable under Section 147 IPC. The learned trial Judge vide judgment and order dated 5-9- 1980 convicted Kamta, Bind Basni, Sheetla Prasad, Sankatha, Jawahar Lal and Shanker for the offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 149 IPC and sentenced them to imprisonment for life. In addition, he convicted Kamta for the offence punishable under Section 148 IPC and sentenced him to undergo R. I. for two years, and Bind Basni, Sheetla Prasad, Sankatha, Jawahar Lal and Shanker for the offence punishable under Section 147 IPC and sentenced them to undergo one year's R. I. The learned Judge, however, acquitted Ram Sajiwan, Mata Pher, Onkar Nath, Nageshwar and Raj Deo. It is pertinent to mention that the State of Uttar Pradesh has not preferred an appeal under Section 378 (1) Cr. P. C. against the acquittal of the said persons. Aggrieved by their convictions and sentences, Kamta, Bind Basni, Sheetla Prasad, Sankatha, Jawahar Lal and Shanker preferred Criminal Appeal No. 526 of 1980 in this Court. During the pendency of the appeal, appellant Kamta died and vide order dated 9-5-2002 passed by a Division Bench of this Court (Hon'ble Virendra Saran and Hon'ble Naseemuddin, JJ.) the appeal preferred by Kamta was ordered to abate.

(2.) SHORTLY stated, the prosecution case runs as under : The informant, Durga Prasad, is the son of deceased Deota Din. At the time of incident, he and his father were living in village Pure Pandit hamlet of Pari, Police Station, Jagatpur, District Rae Bareli. Tulsi Ram, father of appellants, Kamta, Bind Basni and Sheetla Prasad, was a Zamindar. The land on which the houses of informant and co-villagers were constructed had been got registered as a grove in the revenue records by Tulsi Ram. In the consolidation proceedings, the informant had filed objections in respect of the land which Tulsi Ram had got registered as a grove. The informant and his father had succeeded in the said litigation from the Court of Settlement Officer Consolidation. Tulsi Ram had filed an appeal before the Deputy Director of Consolidation, but the same was dismissed. On account of this, Tulsi Ram nursed a grudge against the informant, his father, and his family members. Two days before the incident, the informant had kept a chappar at his door. Tulsi Ram and appellant Kamta had asked the informant not to keep the same but the informant and his father did not relent. On 1-7-1976 at about 7. 30 a. m. the informant and his father Deota Din had gone to dig some mud in their land. When Deota Din was digging the land, appellants Kamta, Bind Basni, Sheetla Prasad, Sankatha, Jawahar Lal, Shanker alongwith five acquitted accused, namely, Ram Sajiwan, Mata Pher, Onkar Nath, Nageshwar and Raj Deo came there. Kamta was armed with a gun and the remaining persons with lathies. Those armed with lathies launched an assault on Deota Din. The informant raised cry, hearing which, Shyam Lal, P. W. 2, Ram Bahadur P. W. 3 and some other persons came. Appellant Kamta started threatening them that in case they came near, he would fire upon them. In the meantime, two constables namely, Gangadhar alias Ganga Dayal alias Shukla and Shamshul came. Seeing them, appellants and acquitted accused ran away. The said constables, however, apprehended the five acquitted accused persons after chasing them to a distance of two furlongs. 2-A. The evidence of the informant shows that when appellants and acquitted accused had run away, he found his father in a precariously injured condition and scribed his FIR beneath a Neem tree. Thereafter, alongwith the FIR and his father Deota Din, he proceeded to the Police Station, Jagatpur to lodge his FIR.

(3.) THE post-mortem examination of the dead-body of Deota Din was conducted on 2-7-1976 at 2. 30 p. m. by Dr. D. Barat, P. W. 5, who found on it one traumatic swelling, four contusions, one multiple contusion, one abraded contusion and five contusions. It is significant to point-out that the traumatic swelling (ante-mortem Injury No. 1) which was situated on the head, was simple in nature and apart from it and three contusions, which were situated at the back of the chest, the remaining injuries were distributed between hands and legs. On internal examination Dr. Barat found that 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th ribs on right side were fractured beneath Injury No. 10, which was a contusion 5 1/2" x 2" along left side back of chest and the aforesaid fractured ribs ruptured left pleura and lacerated left lung and pericardium. In the opinion of the Dr. Barat, the deceased died on account of shock and hemorrhage as a result of ante-mortem injuries sustained by him.