STATE Vs. KANCHAN SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal by the state against a judgment of the Sessions Judge of Banda acquitting the respondents of the offence of Section 396, I. P. C. It was alleged that they in the company of six or seven others committed, a dacoity on the evening of 10-7-1950 on the road from Baberu to kamasin at a place about two miles from Baberu and robbed police constable Phool Singh of police station Baberu of the Government gun and cartridges which he was carrying and murdered him.

(2.) ON 10-7-1950 the chaukidar of village Satniyaon made a report at police station Baberu that there was a likelihood of a breach of the peace in his village. So the head constable deputed P. Cs. Phool Singh deceased and Hanif to go to Satniyaon at once. The deceased was given a government gun and cartridges while Hanif carried his own gun. They went on cycles. They stayed in Satniyaon for some hours, found that everything was peaceful and at 4 or 4. 15 P. M. left for Baberu. In order to go to Baberu one has to go from Satniyaon to village Gurauli Saphai, which is about two miles from Batniyaon and about five and a half miles from Baberu, on baberu-Kamasin road. There is no road of any kind between Satniyaon and Gurauli Saphai; the map of the district does not show even a cart track or footpath between the two villages and apparently one has to go through fields. The two constables reached Gurauli Saphai and as they were going along the road towards baberu they met P. C. Chandra Bhan who was going with a message to Kamasin. The deceased asked Hanif to proceed and stopped to talk with P. C. Chandra Bhan. After talking with him for 5-10 minutes he proceeded on the cycle towards Baberu. He was not thereafter seen alive by hanif. As he was cycling along he met Kanchan Singh, respondent 1, who was walking along in the same direction. He knew him from before and got down to talk to him. That place would be three and a half or four miles from Baberu. Kanchan Singh asked him how the gun could be handled and how much it cost. The deceased after talking to him mounted the cycle and rode on towards Baberu. After he had covered a distance of less than two miles his cycle failed and he had to get down. By that time it had become a little dark. At that place Brij Bhushan Singh, Indra Pal Singh and the chaukidar of birraon passed him. They were presumably going to Birraon which is seven miles from Baberu on the road to Kamasin. He started walking towards Baberu when he was attacked by the two respondents and six or seven others whom he did not know, Kanchan Singh hit him first with a lathi and he fell down. A number of injuries with lathis and spears were inflicted upon him and his gun and cartridges were snatched away from him. The miscreants left him wounded on the road and went away. They left his cycle also on the road. The place was surrounded by jungle and nobody saw the occurrence. The deceased became unconscious on account of the injuries received by him.

(3.) P. C. Hanif arrived at Baberu at 7 P. M. When he woke up at 4. 30 A. M. next morning and found that the deceased had not arrived, he became anxious and went in search of him. He found him lying unconscious near the second milestone. He saw his cycle but not the gun and cartridges. He spoke to the deceased several times, but the latter could not respond and kept on groaning. After a short time Hanif saw Sheo Bodhan Sadhu walking alone the road and asking him to look after the deceased, returned to the police station where at about 6 A. M. he made a written report to the effect that he had found the deceased lying wounded and unconscious on the road about two miles from Baberu, that his cycle was there but not the gun and the cartridges and that he was unable to speak. Thereupon the station officer, the second officer and constables including Hanif went to the spot. They found the deceased still unconscious. They also found Sheo Bodhan and Teg Ali there. Teg ali was at that time going from Baberu to Satniyaon. He also had found the deceased groaning with pain but unable to speak. With the assistance of Sheo Bodhan he had laid him on a 'dari' which he had spread and had kept his canvas bag and cap near him. The station officer started investigation at once. He sent the deceased in a bullock cart with Hanif to Baberu. After preparing the site plan he went in search of the gun and the cartridges in the vicinity.