SHAKOOR AND ANR. Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Shakoor and Jais Muhammad have been convicted under Sec. 396 I.P.C. by the Sessions Judge of Basti and have been sentenced to ten years' rigorous imprisonment each. They have appealed against their conviction and sentence.

(2.) It appears that on the night between the 24th and 25th March, 1952 a dacoity was committed by 25 or 30 men at the house of one Bhagelu in village Ahirauli P.S. Lotan in the district of Basti, and that one Mohsil younger brother of Bhagelu, was killed in this dacoity. The report of this dacoity was made at P.S. Lotan which is three miles from the place of occurrence on 25th Marcb, 1952 at about 8 A.M. in the morning. It was mentioned in the report that in all 25 or 30 dacoits who were armed with lathis, spears and electric torches entered the house by getting over the tiled roof and after entering the house, best the complainant's wife, the wives of his two younger brothers, Tahsil and Mohsil, and also the daughter of Mohsil, and snatched the ornaments from their persons and also looted utensils, grain and clothes inside the house and that Mohsil was sleeping on a cot in the Ghari and the dacoits inflicted injuries on him with a spear as a result of which he died. Ten of the dacoits are named in this report and the present Appellants are among them. As a result of the investigation seven persons including the two Appellants were sent up for trial. They were both named by Bhagelu Shamsullah and some other witnesses. Besides this evidence there was further evidence of recovery of a Batu'a and a pair of shoes from the house of Jais Muhammad at the time of its search. These articles were put up for identification and were correctly identified to be the looted property.

(3.) Both the Appellants denied that they had committed dacoity and pleaded that they had been falsely implicated on account of enmity with one Lalcy, who is the Samdhi of P.W. Bhagelu. Jais Muhammad in his statement also stated that Batula and the shoes were recovered from his house and that the Batula belonged to him and the shoes to his brother.