GOVIND Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This criminal appeal is directed against the judgement and order dated 30-8-1979 passed by Shri S. K. Srivastava, learned IX Additional District and Sessions Judge, Bareilly, in Sessions Trial Nos. 560 of 1977, 370 of 1977 and 123 of 1978, convicting the appellants under Section 396 IPC and sentencing each of them to undergo life imprisonment. Appellant No. 2 Feizoo died about 8 years ago and the appeal so far as he was concerned stood abated.

(2.) The incident of dacoity with murders that had given rise to the aforesaid Sessions Trials had taken place on 22-4-1977 at about 6.30 P.M. invillage Mahoba under Police Station Aligarh district Bareilly in the house of Kailash Chand Pathak, During the commission of the dacoity, the dacoits had murdered Munna Lal, Smt. Lilawati, Girish Singh and Shanker Lal. All the dacoits were unknown to the complainant and the other eye-witnesses and they were tried on the basis of the evidence of identification against them during the test identification proceedings held in the jail after their arrests. They were arrested at different times and, therefore, put for test identification in different parades held on different dates. A number of other co-accused persons also were tried for the same offence along with the appellants, but they were acquitted.

(3.) The facts of the case were as follows :-Complainant Kailash Chand Pathak on 23-4-1977 lodged FIR Ext-Ka-l with the Police at Police Station Aliganj, about the dacoity that had taken place at his house in Village Mahoba at about 6.30 P.M. on 22-1-1977. 14-15 dacoits armed with guns, Kanta and Lathis entered the house at the aforesaid date and time through the main door. He along with his father, uncle, aunt and other family members was inside the house. Four of the dacoits stood on guard duty while the remaining dacoits ransacked the house and tortured the inmates there of to find out the details of property. Complainant Kailash Chand Pathak along with his father, uncle, aunt and servant went to the roof of the house and raised hue and cry and also threw brick - bats at the dacoits. The decoits got infuriated and started firing blindly from inside the house and also from the main door. They were constantly going in and coming out of the house during the course of the dacoity. The story further goes on that the gun firing and hue and cry of the complainant and other family members attracted a number of persons towards the house of the complainant. The indiscriminate firing by the dacoits resulted in the murders of complainants father Shanker Pathak, his uncle Munna Lal, aunt Smt. Leelwati and servant Girish Singh, who did upon the roof itself. The villagers also returned fire and mounted pressure upon the dacoits who therefore, made good their escape along with the booty, including two licensed double barrel guns belonging to the complainant and his uncle and a large quantity of cartridges. The day light was there in which the villagers and the family members of the complainant had been able to see and mark the features of the faces of the dacoits.