STATE OF U P Vs. RAKESH KUMAR AGNIHOTRI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WE have heard Sri D. I. Faridi the learned A.G.A. on admission of the present government appeal, which is directed against the judgement of acquittal dated 22.11.2010 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Court No. 8, Shahjahanpur jointly in Session Trials No. 594 of 1991 and 188 of 1994 by which the accused persons were acquitted of the charges under Sections 302, 364/120-B etc. I.P.C.

(2.) THE prosecution case was that the accused persons came by a Jeep near a medical shop, where the deceased Pandit Vishnudatt Agnihotri, was sitting. They called him and he proceeded towards the Jeep. He was at the same time followed by Avinash who was the son of his sister, who was calling out as to why the deceased Vishnudatt Agnihotri was being taken away by the accused persons. It is stated that all the accused persons forcibly put Vishnudatt Agnihotri and Avinash into the Jeep and sped away. It transpires that the two dead bodies were found in the Jungle, the next day and it further appears to be admitted by P.W. 2 who was the informant of the case and the daughter of the deceased Vishnudatt Agnihotri who also claimed to be an eye witness of taking away part of the incident, that while she was travelling to the police station which was located from her farm house in Shajahanpur at a distance of 15 kilometre, she was informed by an unknown passer-by that the dead bodies of her father and cousin were lying in the Jungle. P.W.2 did not go to the place where the dead bodies were lying, nor did she ask the informer to lead her to that place. It further appears that the occurrence had occurred in between 8.00 and 8.30 p.m. on 27.05.1991 but the report was made 16 hours after the incident, the next day and the explanation was that P.W.-2 travelled by her car in three hours to cover up a distance of 15 kilometre. The reason which was assigned by P.W.-2 to explain the delayed lodging of the report as also the snail's pace of travelling from the farm house to the police station in three hours did not find favour with the court below and it was drawing adverse inference that she was not an eye witness and further that the defence suggestion that she was in between fateful night, not present in the farm house and was rather at Amritshar where she was prosecuting her study appears not a perverse finding.

(3.) THE solitary eye witness account was coming from P.W.-2 but he stated that unknown criminals 5/6 in numbers came by a Jeep and took the two deceased away. Not only that, if the accused persons were inimically disposed towards the deceased then it was not being accepted by the learned trial court that the deceased would be so naive to accompanying the accused in spite of being followed by the other deceased Avinash who was also crying out as to why the deceased was being taken away. P.W.-2 had admitted that the area was infested by the terrorist of Khalistan movement at the relevant time. The record indicated that four hundred acres of land of the farm had been a bone of contention between Vishnudatt Agnihotri and his full brother who was also residing in the other half of the same house, but, was not dining with the deceased on account of the same strained relationship. The strained relationship is exhibited by the admission of the witnesses that both brothers were fighting many criminal litigations in criminal courts also. The learned trial Judge has raised dual inference that either the enemies of the deceased who were fighting litigations with him could have been instrumental in getting him and his nephew killed or the terrorist could have targeted him on account of treating him as their nemesis. After having found these reasons as also the evidence available, we are of the view that the reasoning and the view based on them, which were taken by the learned trial Judge could not be said to be improbable and perverse. In that light, we do not find any merit in the application seeking leave of the court to appeal as also in the present government appeal. The two are hereby dismissed.