KODU SINGH Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal has been directed against the judgment and order dated 21-4-1981 passed by Ist Additional Sessions Judge, Banda in Sessions Trial No. 115 of 1980 convicting appellants Kodu Singh (since dead), Ranjeet Singh and Jagjeet Singh (since dead) under S.148 IPC and 302 read with 149 IPC and sentencing each of them to undergo R. I. for a period of one year under S.148 IPC and imprisonment for life under S.302 read with 149 IPC, convicting appellant Chhatra Pal singh, (since dead) under S.148 IPC and sentencing him to undergo R. I. for a period of one year and convicting appellants Bhabhuti Singh, Vijai Raj Singh, Raghuraj Singh (since dead), Maidan Singh, Turti Singh @ Narvada Singh and Genda Singh (since dead) under S.147 IPC and 325 read with 149 IPC and sentencing each of them to undergo R. I. for a period of six months under S.147 IPC and R. I. for a period 2 1/2 years under S.325/149 IPC. All the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) THE prosecution story, briefly stated, was as under : - Appellants Kodu Singh, Chhatra Pal singh, Raghuraj Singh and Genda Singh were cousin brothers as Gaya Prasad, father of Kodu Singh, Chandrabhan Singh, father of Chhatra Pal Singh and Raghuraj Singh and Kallu Singh, father of Genda Singh were real brothers. Appellants Ranjeet Singh, Jagjeet Singh and Bhabhuti Singh were sons of Kodu Singh. Appellants Madan Singh and Narvada Singh @ Turti Singh were real brothers. All the above appellants and Vijai Raj Singh belonged to the same family. Kodu Singh had taken forcible possession over land of Chhitu Prasad deceased, which was in front of his house and had constructed boundary walls over it. Chhitu Prasad deceased had filed a civil suit against Kodu Singh. The above suit was decreed in favour of Chhitu Prasad on 30-09-1978. On the evening of 20-11-1978 at about 4 p.m. Chhitu Prasad deceased was demolishing the unauthorized wall constructed by Kodu Singh by a Fawara. He has kept his licensed gun with bandolier of cartridges near the wall. Dev Narain (PW 1), son of Chhitu Prasad deceased, was grazing his buffalo towards west of above disputed land. In the meantime, Kodu Singh armed with Farsa, Ranjeet Singh armed with spear, Jagjeet Singh armed with Farsa, Bhabhuti Singh and Vijai Raj Singh armed with lathis emerged out from the house of Kodu Singh and came to the spot. Bhabhuti Singh picked up the gun of Chhitu Prasad deceased. Kodu Singh exhorted to kill Chhitu Prasad. Hearing his exhortation, Chhitu Prasad ran towards his house with Fawara. When he reached at the back of house of Dashrath Gadariya, appellants Chhatra Pal Singh, Maidan Singh, Narvada Singh and Genda Singh all armed with lathis also came there and all the appellants surrounded Chhitu Prasad deceased and started inflicting injuries on him with their respective weapons. On the alarm raised by Chhitu Prasad, Dev Narain (PW 1) rushed to save him and appellants Raghuraj Singh and Genda Singh inflicted lathi blows on him. On the alarm of Dev Narain (PW 1), Brij Kishore (PW 2) and Nand Lal (PW 3) also came there and they challenged the appellants. The appellants thereafter ran away. When Dev Narain (PW 1) and others went to the deceased, they found him dead.

(3.) INVESTIGATION of the case was taken up by Sri Radhey Shyam Saraswat (PW 6), who interrogated Dev Narain (PW 1) at the police station and thereafter came to the spot on 21-11-1978 where he conducted inquest of the dead body of the deceased and prepared inquest report (Ex. Ka - 8) and other relevant papers. He sealed the dead body and sent it for post mortem. The I. O. inspected place of occurrence and prepared site plan (Ex. Ka - 10). The I. O. also took into possession blood stained and simple earth from the spot and prepared recovery memo. He interrogated other witnesses.