ROJAN NAI AND ORS. Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both the appeals have been preferred against the judgment of conviction and punishment dated 24.8.2002 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge/Fast Tract Court, Court No. 4, Varanasi in S.T. No. 438 of 1997, State v. Shiv Shanker @ Pappu Chauhan and others, case crime no. 8/1996, sections 302, 394 and 411 I.P.C., p.s. Chetganj, Varanasi, by which out of four charged accused persons only two namely, Shiv Shanker @ Pappu Chauhan and Rojan Nai had been convicted for the charges u/ss 302/34, 394 and 411 I.P.C. The trial court had awarded sentence to each accused for the charge u/s 302/34 I.P.C. with imprisonment for life and fine of Rs.10,000/- (in default of payment one year's additional imprisonment), for the charge u/s 394 I.P.C. the imprisonment for 10 years and fine of Rs. 5,000/- (in default of payment, six month's additional imprisonment); and to accused Shiv Shanker @ Pappu Chauhan was sentenced with imprisonment of one year for the charge u/s 411 I.P.C. The trial court had also directed that all the sentences would run concurrently.

(2.) Prosecution case in brief was that Shiv Badan Singh Yadav was employed in the Army. During his period of leave, he came to Varanasi, when accused Shiv Shanker @ Pappu Chauhan, Rojan Nai, Manoj Harijan, and Bablu @ Vinod Gaud are alleged to have looted his briefcase and money on 10.01.1996 at about 5:15 a.m. at a place near Sanjay Apartment Colony, Mohalla Chaukaghat, p.s. Chetganj, Varanasi. During robbery, on showing resistance by Shiv Badan Singh Yadav these accused had inflicted knife injuries with the intention to cause death, due to which he died. Upon knowledge of this incident, case crime no. 8/1996 was registered. During investigation police recovered the looted articles of the victim Shiv Badan Singh Yadav from the possession of accused Shiv Shanker @ Pappu Chauhan, and the murder weapon knife was recovered from the possession of accused Rojan Nai. After completion of investigation, charge-sheet was submitted against the said four accused for offences u/ss 302, 394, 411 I.P.C., on the basis of which S.T. No. 438 of 1997 was registered, in which all the accused were charged with offences punishable u/ss 394, 302/34 and 412 I.P.C. All the accused denied the charges and claimed to be tried.

(3.) In support of the charges, prosecution examined PW-1 Sachhidanand Prasad (informant), PW-2 S.I. Raj Bahadur Dwivedi, PW-3 Bhaiya Lal, PW-4 Bharat Lal, PW-5 Dr. Jagdish Singh, PW-6 A.S.I. Rama Shanker Singh, PW-7 Constable Devi Lal, PW-8 Inspector Anil Kumar Mishra, PW-9 Inspector Gurdeep Singh Sarna and PW-10 retired Inspector Shyamdev Ram. These witnesses had also proved documentary evidence of prosecution as Ex. Ka-1 to Ex. Ka-19 and material evidence as Ex.-1 to Ex.-5.