KHEM KARAN AND TWO Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) FOUR persons, namely Khem Karan, Arjun Lal, Vishun Dayal and Jagan Nath were charged by the Sessions Judge, Kheri for offences punishable under Section 302 read with 34 IPC. The learned Judge vide judgment and order dated 22-12-1080 passed in Sessions Trial No. 4214 of 1980 acquitted Jagan Nath for the said offence but convicted the other three thereunder and sentenced each of them to undergo imprisonment for life. Aggrieved by their conviction and sentence, Khem Karan, Arjun Lal and Vishun Dayal have preferred the present appeal.

(2.) SHORTLY stated, the prosecution case runs as under: Informant Gaya Din is son of the deceased Pyare Lal. At the time of the incident the informant Gaya Din PW-1, his father Pyare Lal, his mother Smt. Bhagwati, PW-9, his sister Smt. Lilawati, PW-10, acquitted accused Jagan Nath and the three appellants, namely, Khem Karan, Arjun Lal and Vishun Dayal were residing in village Rautapur within the limits of Police Station Mitauli, District Kheri. There was enmity between the appellants and the acquitted accused Jagan Nath, real brothers, inter se, on one hand and the deceased Pyare Lal on the other. On the date of the incident, i. e. 8th July, 1980, sometimes in the morning, while deceased Pyare Lal was affixing pegs in the corner of the road situate to the west of the grove of the appellants and the acquitted accused Jagan Nath, appellant Khem Karan asked him to uproot them. Pyare Lal replied that after the monsoons he would uproot them. On this Khem Karan told him that if he did not uproot them it would not be good. Saying this, Khem Karan went away. The same evening at about 6 p. m. , when the informant Gaya Din was inside his house and his father Pyare Lal was sitting on the Chabutara (raised platform) situate outside, appellants Khem Karan, Arjun Lal and Vishun Dayal armed with lathi and acquitted accused Jagan Nath armed with a Paina (cane) came. Khem Karan enquired from Pyare Lal whether he would uproot the pegs. Pyare Lal replied that he would uproot them 2 to 4 days after the monsoon. On this appellant Arjun said "yah SALA NETA AUR THEKEDAR BANTA HAI, AAJ SALE KO HI MARNA HAI. " Thereafter Khem Karan, Arjun Lal and Vishun Dayal with lathis and Jagan Nath with a cane started assaulting Pyare Lal who fell down as a consequence thereof. Thereafter the appellant Khem Karan inflicted a lathi blow on the head of Pyare Lal. Then the appellants and acquitted accused Jagan Nath ran away. Apart from the informant Gaya Din, this incident is said to have been seen by his mother Smt. Bhagwati PW-9 and his sister Smt. Lilawati. PW-10 and Ram Saran, Moolchand, Kesari and Makhan, PWs- 2, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. Informant and others saw that there was some life left in Pyare Lal. They put him on a cot and brought him inside the house, where half an hour later he succumbed to his injuries. Thereafter the informant called the Chaukidar and along with him and his grand-father Gajadhar went to police station Mitauli where he lodged his FIR.

(3.) THE bulk of the investigation was done by Inspector Incharge of P. S. Mitauli Vidhya Ram, PW-11. His evidence shows: On 8-7-1980 FIR was lodged in his presence. He thereafter left for the place of the incident which he reached at 10. 30 p. m. He found the corpse of deceased Pyare Lal beneath the shed of informant Gaya Din. He thereafter performed the inquest on it and sent it for autopsy. Next morning, he recorded statements of Gaya Din, Ram Swaroop, Moolchandra, Makhan, Kesari, Smt. Lilawati, Smt. Bhagwati and others and prepared site plan on the pointing of the informant. After completing investigation, on 23-7- 1989 he submitted charge-sheet.