BAIJ NATH Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Four accused, namely, Baij Nath, Ram Bharose Lal, Kunwar Bahadur and Ram Raj, filed this appeal against the judgment and order dated 29-4-1981 passed by Sri N.K. Maheswari, the Additional Sessions Judge, Fatehpur whereby he convicted the four accused under Section 412 of the Penal Code and each one of them was sentenced to undergo rigourous imprisonment for a period of seven years.

(2.) In brief, the facts of the prosecution case were as under.

(3.) P,W. 1 Quddus Khan, son of Nanhjoo Khan, a resident of Saraj Khargu, police station Malwan (Fathehpur) handed over a written report at police station Malwa on 15-9-1977 at 5.30 a.m. A case was registered at crime No. 148 under Section 396, I.P.C. against Istiaq Ahmad alias Dhappi and three others. The informant alleged that he had two houses, old and new adjacent to each other in the village and in the night intervening 14/15 Sept. 1977 he was sleeping in the Chaupal of the house. The informants brother-in-law Sajid Ali and his wife Smt. Munni, who were sleeping in the new house, were raising alarm. On hearing the hue and cry, the informant along with his two brothers reached the roof of the new house and saw 8-9 dacoits, who were armed with guns, Tamanchas and lathies. Some of them had muffled their faces. The informant's two brothers Juggan and Badrool Hasan had a scuffle with dacoits with the result that the informant and others, saw their faces in the light of torches and identified them as Istiaq Ahmad alias Dhappi, Sarwar, Buddhu and Sukhlal. Istiaq Ahmad and Sarwar fired at Juggan and Badrool Husan with their firearms and killed them on the spot. The informant and others came down and raised alarm. On hearing the alarm, a number of villagers, including Qayyum Husain, Banney, Sher Haneef, Hayat Husain and others arrived there. Haseen Ahmed fired shots from his licensed gun. When the dacoits found themselves surrounded with the villagers, who were having guns also they took to their heels with looted articles threatening the villagers.