IQBAL Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CHALLENGE in these two connected appeals by the four appellants namely Iqbal, Khurshid, Kishnu and Kirpa are to their conviction under section 396 I.P.C. and imposed sentence of 10 years RI recorded by VIth Additional Session's Judge, Meerut in S.T. No. 75 of 1980, State Vs. Kirpa and others relating to P.S. Parikshatgarh, District Meerut vide impugned judgment and order dated 23.12.1980.

(2.) ENCAPSULATED prosecution allegations, as were mentioned in the written FIR Ext. Ka-1 and later on testified by the fact witnesses during the trial, were that informant Patiya Singh P.W. 1 and his brothers Saran Singh and Sukhbir Singh were all resident of village Etmadpur, P.S. Parikshatgarh, District Meerut. Patiya's house was only few paces away from the house of Saran Singh and Sukhbir Singh. On the incident night 21/22.7.79 at 1 A.M., dacoity with murder was committed at the house of Saran Singh and Sukhbir Singh, in which Saran Singh was shot dead. Incident was witnessed by the house inmates in the torches lights of Ganga Saran, Daya Chand and Devi Singh and the electric light emanating from the tube well. The dacoity incident had lasted for near about one and half hours. After committing dacoity, the dacoits had decamped with the looted bounty.

(3.) INVESTIGATION into the crime was commenced by S.O. Nepal Singh P.W. 8, in whose presence, FIR was registered. Along with S.I. Harpal Singh and other police constables, P.W. 8 came to the incident scene and there he received the list of looted articles from Jai Singh and Sukhbir Singh and copied them in the case diary, which is Ext. Ka-9 and Ka-10. S.I. Harpal Singh was deputed to conduct inquest on the cadaver of the deceased and I.O. P.W. 8 himself interrogated and penned down statements of witnesses Sukhbir Singh P.W.1, Jai Singh and many others. He had seized the torches and the lantern and had prepared their recovery memos Ext. Ka-20 and 21. Thereafter I.O. has inspected the spot and sketched site plan map Ext. Ka-22.