SAKIL Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The above three appeals arise from a common judgement in S.T. No. 38 of 1977 State v. Sakil and others dt. 5th Mar., 1979 passed by Sri B.B. Sisodia, III Additional Sessions Judge, Jaunpur, convicting and sentencing the appellants under S.395 read with S.397, I.P.C. to seven years R.I. each.

(2.) The prosecution case, in brief, is that on 16-5-1976 Hafiz Muneer Ahmad had gone to Khetasarai to realise money from his customers and was returning from there at about 7 p.m. to his village. At about 8 p.m. when he reached Sabrahad Chatti he took tea at the tea stall of Abdul Jabhar and thereafter at about 8.30 p.m. he proceeded to his village on his bicycle through the Kuchcha road. It is alleged that he was having a torch with him. His bag containing Rs. 920/- towel, papers of account and invitation card was hanging on the handle of his bicycle. It is further alleged that at about 8.45 p.m. when he reached near the culvert on that Kuchcha road, six miscreants ambushed him. One of them caught hold of his cycle and the rest tried to snatch his bag containing cash and other articles. When Hafiz Muneer Ahmad attempted to offer some resistance, he was attacked with a knife and as a result of injuries he fell down. The miscreants after looting the bag with cash ran towards south to make good their escape. Hafiz Muneer Ahmad raised hue and cry. His cries attracted S.O. Satya Narain Singh (P.W. 5), S.I. Jai Prakash Misra (P.W. 6) and some constables who were going on the road and they reached there, to whom the complainant told about his being robbed and also named appellants, Shakeel and Sharfuddin to be amongst the miscreants, S.I. Jai Prakash Misra (P.W. 6) along with the constables and other public witnesses including Mohd. Ashfaq (P.W. 3) and Sharda Prasad (P.W. 4) chased the miscreants in the police jeep and ultimately succeeded in apprehending appellants, Shakeel, Fanendra Narain Shukla, Aditya Pratap Singh, Shamsher Bahadur Singh and Rajeshwari Singh. Appellant Sharfuddin, however, had made good his escape, but it is alleged that he had been seen and recognised by S.I.J.P. Misra (P.W. 6) and other witnesses in the flash of the torch.

(3.) From the possession of Rajeshwari Singh the bag containing Rs. 920/- towel, papers of account and invitation card belonging to Hafiz Muneer Ahmad were recovered, while from the possession of appellant Shakeel a knife is alleged to have been recovered. The articles so recovered were duly sealed and taken to the police station, where first information report (Ex. Ka. 5) was lodged by S.O. Satya Narain Singh (P.W. 5).