SHEO CHARAN Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) TWO real brothers, namely, Sheo Charan and Gokul faced trial before the III Additional Sessions Judge, Hamirpur in S.T. No. 169 of 1979 for the murder of one Smt. Bari Bahu. By judgment and order dated 24 -11 -1981 they came to be convicted by the trial Court under Section 302 I.P.C. with the sentence of life imprisonment. Appellants of the instant appeal have challenged their conviction and sentence.

(2.) SHEO Charan died during pendency of the appeal and the same abated respecting him under order 26 -8 -2004. This Appellate Court is, therefore, now only concerned with the appellant No. 2 Gokul.

(3.) THE prosecution case as unfolded during the trial was like this: The deceased had earlier been married to Ram Lal elder brother of the accused appellant Gokul and his deceased brother Sheo Charan. Ram Lal died about 25 -26 years back. Two years thereafter she remarried with Brindaban P.W. 1. She (Bari Bahu) had inherited 18 acres of land from her previous husband Ram Lal as his sole legal heir. It is an admitted fact that there was no dispute between the accused and deceased till she remarried with Brindaban PW 1 after the death of her previous husband Ram Lal. She even got her name mutated in revenue papers in respect of the land inherited by her. However, dispute started between her and her brother -in -laws (accused) after she solemnized second marriage with Brindaban PW 1. There was protracted litigation of partition in respect of 18 acre of land between her and accused persons. The parties litigated up to High Court and the case was remanded back. It was pending in the Court of the C.O. Rath when this incident took place. The litigation over this land was the root cause of animosity between her and her brother -in -laws accused and the motive of her murder was also the dispute over land.