MUKUT SINGH Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal has been preferred by the appellants Mukut Singh, Ram Kumar and Sri Pal Singh against the judgment and order dated 22-5-1979 passed by Sri Sachidanand, Sessions Judge, Shahjahanpur, whereby he convicted and sentenced each of them under Sec. 302/34 and Sec. 201/34, I.P.C. to life imprisonment and 7 years rigorous imprisonment, respectively, in Sessions Trial No. 580 of 1978 making both the sentences to run concurrently.

(2.) The prosecution case, in brief, is that Lakhan, uncle of Mukandey Gadariya, resident of village Sikanderpur Kalan within police station Jalalabad, district Shajhahanpur was abducted by Sripal Singh, Mukut Singh appellants and Jhinguri and others and got a sale deed of his land executed from him forcibly in favour of the wife of Sripal Singh and Jhinguri. When the incident of abduction was reported to the police, Mukandey and others were challaned under Sec. 107, C.P.C. Mukandey filed a criminal complaint against Sripal Singh, Mukut Singh and others. Later on Lakhan Singh was murdered. Mukandey applied for mutation of his name on the land of Lakhan Singh, which was allowed.

(3.) On the fateful day, i.e. 15-7-78, Vidyaram, son of Mukandey saw the accused persons ploughing the field of Lakhan in the morning. He cried to his father Mukandey whereupon both his father and mother rushed to the spot and protested the action of the accused, who took away their plough threatening the doom of the family of Mukandey. On the same day at about noon Vidyaram, aged about 17 years, son of Mukandey was grazing his bullocks near a cattle pond at a distance of 11/2 furlongs from the village abadi. The accused persons reached there. At that time Sripal Singh was carrying a gun, while Mukut Singh and Ram Kumar were having lathis. Accused Ram Kumar caught hold the boy Vidyaram and dashed him on the ground with the help of co-accused Mukut Singh and pressed the lathi on his throat. Another boy Mathuri, aged about 14 years, son of Sheobaran Kahar, who was also grazing his cattle in the nearby field, threatened to report the matter in the village. Mukut Singh thereupon caught hold Mathuri also and dashed him on the ground and like Vidhyaram lathi was pressed on his throat as well. When both the boys died, their dead bodies were thrown in the cattle pond and thereafter the accused persons had run away from the venue. In that context it may also be mentioned that on hearing the hue and cries of Vidyaram, Bachchoo (PW-1) and Gaya Prasad (PW-4), a boy of ten years of age, who were also present in the vicinity of venue, attracted to the place of occurrence. They witnessed the incident. Gaya Prasad, being a child, was so daunted that he went in hide in a sugarcane field. When the atmosphere was calm he came out a hide and ran away to his house, while Bachchoo came to the house of Mukandey and informed him of the happenings. Mukandey and others rushed to the spot. They took the dead bodies out of the pond and kept them on a mat on the bank of the pond. Lukai Gadariya, who was present at the house of Mukandey when the information was conveyed by Bachchoo about the unfortunate incident, also reached the pond and helped Mukandey and others in taking out the dead bodies from the pond. Mukandey instructed Lukai to go to the police station and inform the police about the incident. When Lukai was going to the police Station at a distance of about 1 or 2 furlongs from the village he came across with Jhinguri, who warned him not to name the accused persons as assailants else he would also meet the same fate which the boys have met. Jhinguri reached the police station Jalalabad where he found Kanhai Singh, father of accused Ram Kumar, sitting with the Sub Inspector, Lukai, who was already frightened due to the threat extended by Jhinguri in the way, was further terrorised to see Kanhai Singh with the Sub Inspector and consequently rather naming the accused he only informed the Sub Inspector that two children, namely Vidya Ram, aged about 18 years, son of Mukandey Gadariya and Mathuri aged about 15-16 years, son of Sheobaran Kahar have drowned in the cattle pond at about 12 noon and their dead bodies have been taken out of the pond by the villagers and are lying on the bank of the pond. That information was taken down in the G.D. No. 28, the same day, i.e. 15-7-78 at 5.15 p.m. at the police station, Jalalabad. Balbir Singh Tyagi, Sub Inspector, and some Constables proceeded to village Sikanderpur for preparing the inquest reports etc. From the Thana Lukai also accompanied them up to the village but he did not go to the pond where the dead bodies were lying and the police was going to see the spot. On reaching the pond, the Sub Inspector Balbir Singh Tyagi prepared the inquest reports of the dead bodies of Mathuri and Vidyaram at 9.00 p.m. and 11.05 p.m. on the same day. According to the Sub Inspector and in the opinion of panches the cause of death of Mathuri, as noted in the inquest report, was due to injury on the mouth and drowning and the body appears to have been thrown in the pond after causing the injury. Regarding the cause of death of Vidyaram the Sub Inspector and the Panches were of the opinion that the death was due to drowning and no injury was noted on his person in the inquest report. Thereafter the Sub Inspector sent the dead bodies in a sealed condition to District mortuary Shahjahanpur for autopsy.