PATALI Vs. STATE OF U.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present Criminal Appeal has been preferred by the appellant Patali against the judgment and order dated 11.3.1982 passed by Vth Additional Sessions Judge, Aligarh, in Sessions Trial No. 417 of 1976 arising out of case crime No. 45 wherein the appellant has been convicted under section 396 I.P.C. and sentenced to life imprisonment. As per version of the prosecution, the occurrence took place in the night intervening between 28th/29th April 1976, at about 12.00 midnight wherein an armed dacoity was committed at the house of Hukam Singh in village Mithanpur, situated within police circle Hathras Junction, district Aligarh in which 8 or 9 miscreants participated, and looted the property of Hukam Singh from his house for about half an hour, and made their escape good with the looted property. On alarm being raised, a number of witnesses arrived at the spot and bushes were set to fire at two places near the house of Hukam Singh which created sufficient light.

(2.) Witnesses Shishpal Singh and Ramesh also arrived at the spot with torches in their hands which they flashed. A lantern was also burning at the roof of the house of Hukam Singh where Smt. Kiran Devi and other members of the family were sleeping. In all that light, the faces of the miscreants could be seen by the witnesses present on the spot. A case of docoity was registered at the police station Hathras Junction on the oral report of Ram Chandra Singh, the son-in-law of Hukum Singh who was present in the village Mithanpur on that date and was sleeping in the Khaliyan. He on coming to know about the occurrence of dacoity at the house of his father-in-law went to police station Hathras Junction along with his brother-in-law Khacher Mal and reported the matter there which was initially registered at Crime No. 53 under Sections 395, 397 I.P.C. at 12.45 a.m. on 29.4.1976 vide Ex. Ka-8.

(3.) During the course of occurrence, some of the miscreants fired at Ashok, one of the members of the family of Hukum Singh due to which Ashok was injured and he died subsequently during course of treatment on 10.5.1976. Consequently, a case of dacoity with murder was registered under section 396 I.P.C. at the police station and was investigated into. During the course of investigation, on 30.7.1976, S.I. (The second Investigating Officer), Fateh Alam (P.W.-6) arrested all the three accused including the appellant and made them Baparda. As per version of Investigating Officer, the accused persons confessed to him to have committed dacoity at the house of Hukum Singh. They were later on paraded for test identification on 8.9.1976.