RAMESHWAR SINGH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) UNDER challenge in Criminal Appeal No.295 of 1982 is the judgment and order dated 22.3.1982, passed by V Additional Sessions Judge, Faizabad in Sessions Trial No. 388 of 1981, by means of which appellants Rameshwar Singh, Ram Narain Singh and Smt. Ram Sanwari were convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life. Criminal Appeal (Jail) No. 541 of 1982 has been preferred by one of the appellants, namely, Smt. Ram Sanwari against the same judgment and order. Both these appeals are, therefore, being disposed of by a common judgment.

(2.) BRIEFLY stated, the incident took place on 18.5.1981 at about 9 p.m when Smt. Ramkala, after serving food to her husband Chaitoo, nephew Bharat Lal and a child, went to the house of Kedar Pandey for treatment of her small child. When she reached near the house of Ram Kumar, she heard Smt. Ram Sanwari complaining to Ram Kumar that Chaitoo and his wife (Smt. Ramkala) had got her cow haunted, due to which it was not giving milk to its calf. She made objection to this remark and asked them to go to Sokha to get the cow free from enchantment, whereupon Smt. Ram Sanwari caught hold of the hairs of Smt. Ramkala and started beating her with kick and fists. Hearing her cries, Chaitoo came to her rescue. Ram Narain and Rameshwar came there with Lathis and they alongwith Smt. Ram Sanwari started beating Chaitoo. Smt. Ram Sanwari was wielding Danda and the other two accused were wielding Lathis. Several persons came there and intervened. Chaitoo fell on the ground and even thereafter the accused continued to beat him and stopped only when they saw that he had died. The source of light mentioned in the report was electric bulb which was lighting at the tubewell. Smt. Ramkala made arrangement for a rickshaw to take her husband to the police station but he succumbed to his injuries on way to the police station. On her report, a case under Section 304 IPC was registered against the accused.

(3.) S .I Laxmi Kant Pandey took up the investigation of this case in his hand. He prepared the inquest report at the police station. He also prepared photo -lash and challan lash. He sealed the dead body and handed it over to constable Satya Narain and Jagdish to take it to mortuary for post -mortem examination. He recorded the statements of Smt. Ramkala and Chatthi at the police station. Smt. Ram Sanwari was arrested but the other accused absconded. He collected the blood -stained and plain earth from the place of occurrence and prepared the site -plan. Thereafter he was transferred and investigation was handed over to S.I Deo Narain Trivedi.