RAJ PRASAD Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS criminal appeal is directed against the judgement and order dated 2. 11. 1981 passed by III Addl. Sessions Judge, Gonda in Session Trial No. 13 of 1980 convicting and sentencing the appellants under sections 147/148/452/302 and 149 I. P. C. to undergo two years' R. I. each under the first three counts and imprisonment for life under section 302/149 I. P. C. All the sentences were made to run concurrently.

(2.) THE factual matrix is as under:- According to the prosecution version, there was a long drawn enmity between the parties owing to litigation between them regarding property matters. It is further alleged that sometimes prior to the incident accused Raj Dutt's brother Prem Dutt was murdered in which the deceased and witness Gopal were accused, but ultimately the case ended in acquittal. On account of this, the accused persons bore grudge and on 31. 7. 1977 at about 11. 00 a. m. in a village Kansapur, P. S. Kotwali Dehat, Gonda while the deceased Lallu was lying in his Baithaka along with his wife, the accused persons Jag Prasad armed with Pharsa, Ram Chandra (since dead) and Gulab armed with Bhala, Raj Dutt armed with gun. Raj Kumar, Ram Prasad and Ram Abhilakh (since dead) armed with Kattas entered the house of the deceased and assaulted him with their respective weapons, in prosecution of common object of unlawful assembly viz to commit murder, which resulted in his instantaneous death on the spot. On the alarm being raised, Narain, Nanku, Gopal, Satya Dev, Shyam Pandey and others reached the spot and the accuse persons made their escape good. THE informant Smt. Kaushal Kumari @ Kaushalya wife of the deceased went to the police station along with Gopal and lodged the F. I. R. Ext.-Ka-l, on the basis of which a case at Crime No. 320 of 1977, under sections 147/148/149/452 and 302 I. P. C. was registered. THE Investigating Officer after completing usual investigation submitted the charge-sheet against the accused persons. To prove its case the prosecution examined as many as six witnesses, out of them P. W. I Smt. Kaushal Kumari, informant, P. W. 2 Satya Dev and P. W. 3 Gopal are the witnesses of fact and rest are formal ones. P. W. 4 is Krishna Mohan Shukla, in whose presence S. I. Prasad Ram (untraceable) recovered broken pieces of bangles, pellets, blood stained and ordinary sand and blood stained wads for which fards were prepared. P. W. 5 is Dr. H. C. Srivastava, Medical Officer, District Hospital, Gonda, who conducted autopsy on the dead body of deceased Anand Kumar @ Lallu on 1. 9. 1977 at about 12. 45 p. m. and prepared the post-mortem report Ext. Ka-7, which shows the following ante-mortem injuries:- 1. Incised wound 4. 00 cm. x 1. 00 cm. bone deep over Rt. side scalp 3-1/2 cm. above Rt. eyebrow. 2. Incised. wound 1/1/2 cm. x 1/2 cm. skin deep over his middle part of Rt. eyebrow.

(3.) FIREARM wound of entry of 3 cm. x 2 cm. x muscle deep charring around it inverted margin over Rt. side neck 11-1/2 cm. below- Rt. ear TO clock position.