BHAGWAN DAS Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CHALLENGE in these Appeals, preferred under Section 374 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (in short, 'the Cr. P. C. '), is to the judgement and order dated 05. 09. 1984, passed by the Sessions Judge, Kanpur in S. T. No. 466/m of 1983 (State Vs. Bhagwan Das and others), whereby convicting the appellant Sheo Mohan under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code (in short, 'the I. P. C. ') and separately convicting the appellants Bhagwan Das and Shankar @ Sheo Shanker under Section 302 read with Section 34 I. P. C. , they all have been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life.

(2.) DURING pendency of the appeal, the appellant Bhagwan Das has died and hence the appeal stands abated against him.

(3.) THE incident resulting in the death of Ishwardeen, husband of the complainant Smt. Kamla (P. W. 1), took place on 18. 08. 1983 at about 9. 15 p. m. on the 2nd Floor of house no. 86/252 Garg Road, Raipurwa, Kanpur. First Information Report was lodged by Smt. Kamla at P. S. Raipurwa in the same night at 9. 45 p. m. The case of the prosecution as appearing from the chik F. I. R. Ext. Ka-2, in brief, is that the complainant Smt. Kamla with her husband Ishwardeen and other family members was residing on second floor of tenanted house no. 86/252 Garg Road, Raipurwa, Kanpur owned by Bhagwan Das s/o Kashi Prasad Jaiswal. The landlord Bhagwan Das and his son-in-law Sheo Mohan resident of Moti Mohal, P. S. Harbans Mohal were also residing with their family members on the first floor and other tenants were residing on the ground floor. Sheo Mohan was asking the complainant's husband to pay the rent to him or vacate the house. He used to say that the house has been transferred to him. When the house was not vacated, a suit for eviction was filed by Bhagwan Das. For this reason, Bhagwan Das and Sheo Mohan were having enmity with the complainant's family. It is alleged that when on 18. 08. 1983 at about 9. 15 p. m. , Ishwardeen sat to take dinner and his wife Smt. Kamla was going to serve the meal and his son Subhash (P. W. 2) was sitting nearby, the accused Bhagwan Das, Sheo Mohan and his elder brother Shanker and one unknown person came there. At that time, there was electric light. Immediately after reaching at the house of complainant, Bhagwan Das exhorted Sheo Mohan saying, "ishwar Deen aise makan khali nahin karega. Aaj iska safaya hee kar do. " On this, Shanker and unknown person caught hold of Ishwardeen and Sheo Mohan gave knife blows to him, due to which he sustained serious injuries. Thereafter, the accused persons fled away from there.