CHANDOO Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgement and order dated 6-3-80 of Sri Harish Chandra Saxena, the then III Additional Session Judge, Saharanpur, in S.T. No. 97 of 1979, convicting the appellants under Section 302 read with Section 149, I.P.C. and sentencing each of them to imprisonment for life and also further convicting them under Section 323 read with Section 149, I.P.C. and awarding six months' R.I. to each of them. He also held Chandoo, Isam Singh, Simal and Dal Singh appellants guilty of the charge punishable under Section 148, I.P.C. and accordingly he convicted and sentenced them under that count to a term of two years' R.I., each, whereas Mehar appellantwas further held guilty under Section 147, I.P.C. and was convicted thereunder and sentenced to one year's R.I. However, he directed the sentences of all the appellants passed under different counts to run concurrently.

(2.) Briefly stated, the prosecution case, as set out in the first information report, was that accused Makhan and Mangal and the informant Ram Kishan (P.W. 1) and Sohan Deceased were residents of village Manik Mau, within police station kotwali Dehat, district Sharanpur. Makhan accused had no issue. His maternal nephew (Bhanja) Mehar and Smt. Kela, daughter of his sister-in-law (Sali) were residing with him. Mehar had developed illicit connection with Smt. Kela, which was not liked by the residents of Manik Bau. Sohan deceased, Phulloo and some other residents of the village made a complaint to Makhan about that illicit connection of Mehar and Smt. Kela and asked him to export them from the village as their unholy affair was polluting the environment of the entire village. On 22-10-78 Smt. Kela was sent to her in-laws' house. On the fateful day, i.e. 23-10-78, at about 6.00 P.M. Sohan was going towards is fields in the company of Pitambar and Ram Kishan, Sala and cousin, respectively, of the deceased. When they were passing through a lane infront of the house of makhan the latter was standing at the door of his house. At that juncture Makhan asked Sohan as to why he was defaming his daughter (Kela). Thereupon Sohan retorted that if was their own misdeed which was defaming them. Makhan started abusing Sohan for which Ram Kishan and Pitambar reprimanded Makhan. In the meantime the appellants and Mangal came out of the Bagar of Makhan. Of them, Bimal and Isam Singh were armed with Knives, Dal Singh with an axe, Chandoo with a spear and Mehar with a lathi. They also abused Sohan and his companions and exhorting to kill him they all pounced upon the deceased and his associate Ram Kishan and Pitambar and started inflicting injuries with their respective weapons. During assault informant Ram Kishan and Pitambar tracked behind and, therefore, they received only minor injuries. On the hue and cry raised by Sohan and his companions. Suba and Amarnath arrived on the spot. Bimal and Isam Singh caused knife injuries on the person of Sohan while Dal Singh and Mehar inflicted axe and lathi injuries, respectively. Chandoo also wielded his spear on Sohan but as the luck would have it, the blow fell on Dal Singh instead of Sohan for which Dal Singh reprimanded Chandoo. Mangal and Makhan grappled with the deceased and dragged him into the Bagar saying that they would kill him. In the Bagar also the deceased was beaten by the accused' with their respective weapons and thereafter his body was thrown on the Kharanja in the lane. Various persons had collected on the spot and after seeing them the accused persons had run away towards east of the village. Sohan died on the spot and his dead body was lying there in the lane. Ram Kishan (P.W. 1) along with his brother Raghubir, Kurdi and Pooran went to police station for lodging the F.I.R. when they were going near the Cotton Mill, an employee of the mill came across in the way to whom they narrated the entire episode and got a report of the incident scribed from him. That report was then sent to police station Kotwali Dehat Saharanpur through Raghubir And Kurdi, who lodged it there at 8.05 P.M. on the same day, i.e., 23-10-78.

(3.) The investigation of the case was entrusted to Sub Inspector Satish Chandra Sharma, who has been examined as P.W. 8 in this case. He reached the venue the same day in the company of R. D. Singh, Sub Inspector, and five constables. On his-direction R. D. Singh (P.W. 6) prepared the inquest report and he himself recorded the statement of Ram Kishan (P.W. 1) and prepared the site plan of the spot, collected blood stained and unstained earth from the place of incident and then sent the deadbody to mortuary through three Constables for post-mortem examination. In the night the Investigating officer stayed in the village and next morning started further investigation at 6.30 A.M. He recorded statements of Pitambar (P.W. 2), R. D. Singh, Sub Inspector and of other persons and then returned to Saharanpur. There he met Dal Singh in the Hospital on 24-10-78 but he could not arrest him and record his statement as he was lying unconscious. Thereafter. witnesses Amarnath and others were interrogated by him on 26-10-78. However; the statements of Phulloo and others were taken down on 7-12-78. The accused could not be arrested as they surrendered in Court.