STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH Vs. KRISHNA PAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal has been filed by the State against the judgment and order dated 4-6-1998 passed by Sri R. P. Srivastava, the then IV Addl. Sessions Judge, Meerut in Sessions Trial No. 171 of 1991, whereby he acquitted the respondents No.1 to 5, namely Krishna Pal, Satpal, Dhanpal, Rajesh and Ranbir of the charges under Ss. 147 and 302, I.P.C. read with section 149, I. P. C. for which they were tried.

(2.) The matter involved the murder of two persons, namely Jaipal and his son Devendra aged about 12 years. The murders were allegedly committed by the accused-respondents, after forming unlawful assembly, on 4-11-1988 at about 4 P. M. in village Biharipur, P. S. Baghpat, then forming part of District Meerut. The F. I. R. had been lodged by Raghubir-brother of the deceased Jaipal on the same day at 7.15 P. M. The distance of the police station from the place of occurrence is about 13 Kms. The informant was not an eye-witness of the incident, but was informed of the same in his village Wali by his niece Rekha. She is the daughter of deceased Jaipal. As per the narration made in the F. I. R.about 11/2 months before the incident, Krishna Pal son of the sister of the informant and the son in law of the respondent Satpal had gone to Baraut to witness a movie. The wrist watch of Krishna Pal had been snatched away by the son-in-law of Satpal. Satish son of the deceased Jaipal remonstrated in this regard which resulted in altercation and exchange of hot words. On the fateful day at about 4 P. M., the accused-respondents appeared at the house of the deceased and objected for the son-in-law of one of them Satpal having been rebuked over the wrist watch issue. They murdered Jaipal and his son Devendra, using firearms as well as sharp edged weapons. Satpal and Dhanpal accused-respondents are real brothers. The case was registered and the investigation followed. Thereafter, the accused respondents were booked and put on trial which resulted in their acquittal.

(3.) It would be relevant to state here that the post mortem over the dead bodies of the deceased Devendra and his father Jaipal had been conducted on 5-11-1988 at 11.15 A. M. and 12.15 P. M. respectively. Devendra who was aged about 12 years sustained as many as seven ante-mortem injuries out of which five incised wounds besides his neck being severed. The head was missing. Jaipal who was aged about 50 years sustained a number of injuries including gunshot wound of entry in the abdomen, 8 incised wounds, 2 punctured wounds and 12 stab wounds on different parts of his body. The perusal of the post-mortem reports indicates that the two victims were done to death most brutally.