NANDAN SINGH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PRAFULLA C. Pant, J. This appeal, preferred under section 374 (2) of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, (hereinafter referred as Cr. P. C.) is di rected against the judgment and order dated 17-12-1993 passed by III Addi tional Sessions Judge, Nainital, in Ses sions Trial No. 344 of 1989,-whereby ac cused / appellants - Nandan Singh, Pooran Singh and Bachchey Singh are. convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred as I. PC. ). Each one of three is sentenced to imprisonment for life by the said court.

(2.) HEARD learned counsel for the parties and perused the lower court record.

(3.) MAGISTRATE on receipt of chargesheet, after giving necessary cop ies to the accused as required under section 207, Cr. P. C. , appears to have committed the case to the sessions for trial. Learned Sessions Judge, Nainital, to whom the case was committed, after hearing the parties on 05-12-1989, framed the charge of offence punishable under Section 302, read with Section 34, I. P. C. , against all the three accused namely Nandan Singh, Pooran Singh and Bachchey Singh. AH the three ac cused pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried. Thereafter, the case appears to have been transferred to Additional Ses sions Judge for further trial. On this, prosecution got examined PW1 - Shiv Raj Singh, eye-witness and complainant, who is relative and neighbour of the deceased; P. W 2 - Sher Singh, eye wit ness, who is relative and neighbour of the deceased; P. W 3 - Bachchi Ram, in dependent eye witness, who was work ing in the house of Mohan Singh (de ceased); P. W 4 - Radhika Devi, eye wit ness, widow of the deceased; P. W 5 Dr. S. S. R Verma, who recorded the injuries on the person of Mohan Singh in Pri mary Health Centre Bailparao, before his death; P. W 6 - Dr. N. K. Agarwal, who conducted the postmortem examination of the dead body of the deceased; P. W 7 - Kesar Singh, eye witness, who is nephew and neighbour of the deceased and PW8 - Sub Inspector Tara Dutt Joshi, who started the investigation. Apart from 8 witnesses, Constable Kishan Chandra (PW 9) has filed affi davit that dead body of Mohan Singh (deceased) was taken for postmortem in sealed cover. The oral and documentary evidence was put to the three accused under Section 313, Cr. P. C. , in reply to which they alleged it to be false. Ac cused Nandan Singh at the end of his reply submitted that he used LATHI having sharp edged iron leaf with it against Mohan Singh in self defence. Other two accused simply denied the evidence produced by the prosecution as false. Accused Bachchey Singh-submit ted that he belongs to Ranikhet, a place 115 kms: away from the place of inci dent. It is further alleged by him at the end of his reply that as he is brother- in-law of accused Nandan Singh and falsely implicated. In defence DW 1 Constable Gopal Singh was got examined to prove the first information report (cross version of one lodged by Shiv Raj Singh with Police Station - Ram Nagar on 29-06-1989) lodged by Nandan Singh. After hearing the parties, the Trial Court found all the three accused guilty of charge offence punishable under Sec tion 302 read with Section 34, I. P. C. and after convicting and hearing on the sen tence, sentenced each one of the con victs to imprisonment of life.