HETRAM Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Criminal Appeal No. 1311 of 1980 was filed by appellants Hetram, Bhagwan, Lok Pal, Tota Ram, Talebar Ramveer and Jagdish. The other Criminal Appeal No. 1312 of 1980 was filed by appellant Ajuddhi. Appellants Hetram. Ajuddhi, Bhagwan and Totaram were convicted under Sections 148, 307/149 and 302/149, IPC and sentenced to R.I. for 2 years, R.I. for 5 years and imprisonment for life respectively. Appellants Lokpal, Talewar, Ramvir and Jagdish were convicted under Sections 147, 307/149 and 302/149, IPC and sentenced to R.I. for one year, R.I. for 5 years and imprisonment for life respectively.

(2.) Aggrieved by the said conviction, these appellants have preferred the 'aforesaid appeals in this Court.

(3.) The brief story of the prosecution, as laid in the F.I.R., is as under : Bharat Singh, resident of village Dulha, claimed that he was suspected behind the arrest of Jayant, son of Genda, by the police under Section 25 of the Arms Act. As a consequence of that the appellants were nursing serious grouse against him. They were in the look out of his elimination as a consequence of the said suspicion and the animosity entertained by them. On the intervening night of 8/9-7-1979 at about 12.00 in the night while the two deceased and some others belonging to one family were asleep in the courtyard of their house, appellants Het Ram with a gun in his hand and Bhagwan with a country made pistol came on the roof of the shop of P.W. 3 Ramesh. Het Ram is said to have opened a warning fire from his gun, which awakened the deceased, the informant and others. The females also were attracted to the place from inside their house after the fire was made by one of the accused persons from the roof. Het Ram is said to have exhorted his companions that they had a golden opportunity, let Bharat Singh did not escape. In his F.I.R., P.W. 1 Bharat Singh further claimed that hearing the gunshot report he was awakened. He was at that time sleeping inside his house. He had seen the incident from a hole and he identified all the miscreants along with their weapons. Four known persons were having Lathis along with two or three wholly unknown persons. In the second limb of the prosecution case, as contained in the F.I.R., Het Ram is said to have opened solitary fire from the roof, which struck Bhoop Singh and the other shot was fired by Ajodhi from the ground upon the same person. From the F.I.R. it appears that the females of the house Shanti and Harpiyari came out from the house at this stage and not at the stage of first shot being fired from the roof by Het Ram. The assailants, on the alarm being passed by the villagers, took to their heels opening indiscriminate fires. The ladies sustained gunshot injuries as a consequence to that.