MANGI Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Mangi Lohar appeals against his conviction under Section 302, Penal Code and sentence of death. There is also before us the usual reference for the confirmation of the sentence of death. The incident which was the subject matter of investigation in the Court below related to the murder of two boys Rameshwar and Badri, aged about 15 and 10 years respectively on 18th December 1951 in the afternoon in village Bilgaon in police station Jalalpur in the district of Hamirpur.

(2.) It appears that the deceased were the daughter's sons of Smt. Tulsia, an old widow aged 65 whose husband had left a tenancy holding, a house & some other property. She had sent for her two grandsons who used to live in another village to help her in cultivation and it is said that she intended that they should take all her husband's property after her death. Her husband had also left two nephews one of them was the appellant and the other was one Daya Ram. The prosecution case was that Mangi and Daya Ram did not like Smt. Tulsia calling her grandsons in the village for helping her in cultivation and allowing them to inherit the property after her death. Mangi and Daya Ram wanted that the property should be inherited by themselves instead of by the grandsons. They at first asked Smt. Tulsia to send away the two. boys. But she would not listen. On the day of occurrence, i. e. 18th December 1951, in the afternoon, Mangi told Smt. Tulsia that she could be allowed to keep the two boys upto the month of Chait (Chait next) on condition that she paid him Rs. 100/-forthwith and that if she refused to do so he would take the lives of the two boys. Some villagers intervened and reprimanded Mangi and assuaged the feelings of Tulsia and assured her that no harm would be done to the boys. Smt. Tulsia did not pay the money and returned to her house. In the afternoon she started for the fields in a bullock cart with Rameshwar in order to bring fodder. Dalli and Dhani Ram, two other boys, friends of Rameshwar, also accompanied the party in the cart. When tne cart was passing along a narrow road with high mounds on either side, Mangi appellant and his brother .Daya Ram got into the cart from behind. Mangi was armed with an axe. Daya Ram caught hold of Rameshwar while Mangi struck nim with an axe. Rameshwar fell down on the ground. Even after this Mangi continued to inflict blows on him killing him on the spot. Tulsia also received injuries while attempting to protect Rameshwar, Dalli and Dhani Ram ran away in fright. After having murdered Rameshwar and injuring Tulsia, Mangi and Daya Ram, so the prosecution story goes on, returned to the village and found the other boy Badri standing in front of the house of one Ghasya Basor. Mangi killed him also with the axe. Ghasya Basor was inside his house and had just taken his meal. On hearing the cries of the boy he came out. In the meanwhile Tulsia also came weeping and crying on account of the murder of Rameshwar. Ghasya told her that her other grandson had also been killed just then.

(3.) The first information report of this incident was lodged by Tulsia herself at the police station at about 3 A. M. next morning. The police station is nine miles away from the place of occurrence. Postmortem examination on the body of Rameshwar revealed that he had received seven incised wounds on various parts of his body. The skull bone had been fractured at various places. Post mortem examination on the body of Badri showed that he had received six incised wounds on shoulders, neck & head. In his case also the skull bones were fractured. The cause of death in both cases was injury to the brain, haemorrhage and shock. The appellant was arrested on the 19th December when the investigating officer reached the village. It is alleged by the prosecution that the appellant pointed out the axe with which the crime was committed. A blood-stained axe and a blood-stained 'safi' were recovered from his house. Both these articles were sent to the Chemical Examiner, U. P. and to the Serologist to the Government of India. The blood-stains on the safi had disintegrated and their origin could not be determined. The blood on the axe was found to be of human origin.