RAM LAKHAN Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS criminal appeal has been preferred against the judgment and order dated 4 -2 -1982 passed by Shri D.C. Srivastava, Addl. Sessions Judge, Gyanpur, Varanasi, in Sessions Trial No. 43 of 1981 whereby he convicted the appellants Ram Lakhan, Ragunath and Vikrama under Sections 302/34,325/34 and 324/34 I.P.C. and sentenced each of them to undergo imprisonment for life, one year's R.I. and 3 months' R.I. under the respective counts. However, all the sentences were directed to run concurrently.

(2.) THE prosecution version as contained in the F.I.R. was that an altercation had taken place on the day of incident, i.e., 31 -10 -1980 at about 7.00 a.m. between Kalu Harijan (deceased), the father of the complainant Banafar and Ram Lakhan Harijan on account of uprooting of an Amola (mango sapling). On the same day at about 1.00 p.m., the father of the complainant came to his house after ploughing the field and after taking his meal he came out of the house. At that time, his collaterals, namely, Ram Lakhan and Raghunath, sons of Banwari and Vikrama son of Ram Lakhan Harijan, armed with Lathis came there and hurled abuses saying that he always used to uproot their Amola (mango saplings). So saying, they began to assault Kalu with Lathies. On the cries raised by the deceased and his wife, the complainant and Dukhi son of Baul Harijan who were weaving Galaicha (carpet) at some distance at the house of Heera Harijan ran towards the place of occurrence. In the meantime, other villagers had also reached the place of occurrence. When they intervened and tried to pacify the assailants, they gave Lathi blows to him (informant Banafar) and his mother also. The complainant also assaulted Ram Lakhan and Raghunath in his defence with Danda picked up from nearby. The father of the complainant had received many head injuries and he had become unconscious. The deceased succumbed to his injuries near Gyanpur Hospital when he was being taken there by the complainant alongwith Dukhi and Heera.

(3.) P .W. 7, Dr. J.S. Pawar conducted the post -mortem examination on the dead body of the deceased on 1 -11 -1980 at 10 a.m. He found that the deceased was aged about 65 years and about 1/2 -3/4 day had passed since he died. He found the following ante -mortem injuries on his person. 1. Lacerated wound 3 cms x 1 cm x bone left side of head, 5 cm above the left eyebrow outer end. Linear fracture of parietal and temporal bone present under injury. 2. Lacerated wound 4 cm x 1 cm x bone on top of head in horizontal direction. Linear fracture of right parietal and temporal bones, 5 cm under injury No. 2. 3. Lacerated wound 3 cm x 0.5 cm x bone meeting injury No. 2 at right angle, 8 cm above the root of nose in vertical direction. 4. Multiple abrasions in an area 1 cm x 0.5 cm on the back of left elbow.