ASIF Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS criminal appeal has been filed by the appellant - Asif, Sabir, Latafat and Quddus - against the judgment and order dated 20.2.1982 passed by Sessions Judge, Shahjahanpur, in S.T. No. 482 of 1981, convicting and sentencing the appellants under Section 302, I.P.C. read with Section 34 I.P.C. to life imprisonment.

(2.) SINCE the appellants, Latafat and Quddus, have died and there is a report of the C.J.M., Shahjahanpur, after making due enquiry to this effect, the appeal on behalf of these deceased appellants abates. Now only the appeal on behalf of the appellants, Asif and Sabir, survives and is being disposed of by this judgment.

(3.) AFTER registration of the crime, S.I., Raghu Singh (P.W. 5) commenced the investigation of the case. He left for the place of incident at 2.30 a.m. alongwith the informant. The next morning (18.5.1981) inquest was conducted on the body of the deceased at about 5.30 a.m. and the body was sent for postmortem alongwith the report and other papers through constables Pancham and Pramod Kumar. The postmortem was conducted on the dead body of Chattar on 18.5.1981 at 5 p.m. by P.W. 4, Dr. Satyapal, at District Hospital, Saharanpur. The deceased was 55 years in age and according to the postmortem report (Ext. Ka-2). He had the following ante mortem injuries : 1. Multiple gunshot wounds of entry in an area of 14 cm. x 12 cm. on the entire epigastrium and adjacent parts of umbilical region above umbilicus region. Each wound 0.4 cm. diameter peritoneal cavity deep. Direction backward and to left side. 3 pellets were palpable on the left flank under skin around 12th left rib. 2. Two gunshot wounds of entry each 0.5 cm. 0.4 cm. muscle deep on antero-lateral aspect of left cubital fossa and directed backwards and lateral, 2 cm. apart. There was no blackening or tattooing. 3. Multiple abrasions 0.8 cm. c.m. in an area of 5 c.m. 3 c.m. on left forearm upper third antero-lateral side. 4. Lacerated wound 0.6 c.m. 0.3 c.m. bone deep on right side forehead, 1 c.m. above middle of right eye-brow. 5. Abrasion 2 c.m. 2 c.m. just below left patella.