MOOL CHAND Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by Mool Chand, aged 22 years, and Phool Chand, aged 30 years, against their conviction under Section 302 and under Sections 302/34, I. P. C. respectively and sentence of death. There is also before us the usual reference for the confirmation of the death sentence.

(2.) The appellants were prosecuted along with Brij Lal and Ram Naresh under Sections 147, 148, 302 read with Section 149, I. P. C. for having conspired together to murder one Nathey Ahir after arming themselves with deadly weapons in the company of one or two more persons and for having committed murder of the aforesaid person at about mid-night between the 3rd and 4th August 1951 in village Bahapur, while the deceased was sleeping on a Machan in a field. Brij Lal and Ram Naresh were acquitted by the learned Sessions Judge.

(3.) It appears that Mool Chand's father Lautan and Phool Chand's father Sultan were cousins. They used to cultivate a field of Rampat zamindar, P. W. 13. Rampat ejected them by means of a suit and then cultivated the land himself for two years. In the month of Jeth or Baisakh 1951 Nathey deceased got the land from Rampat. Mool Chand and Phool Chand did not like this. They threatened Nathey that if he did not leave the land, he would come to harm. Brij Lal and Ram Naresh had, however, other enmity with Nathey and the prosecution case was that they conspired, with Mool Chand and Phool Chand to murder Nathey. For the last three nights before the incident Nathey used to sleep on a Machan in his Jondhari field in order to guard his crops in the night. In the night in question, according to the prosecution, while Nathey was sleeping on a cot on his Machan, five or six persons including the appellants and Brij Lal and Ram Naresh attacked Nathey with garidasas. The actual attack was made by Mool Chand and Brij Lal while Phool Chand and Ram Naresh held the feet of Nathey to facilitate his being killed, and one or two persons, who could not be recognised, armed with lathis were standing nearby.