ASHA RAM Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal by Asha Ram is directed against the judgment and order dated 27-4-1979 passed by the VIII Additional Sessions Judge, Meerut in Sessions Trial No. 105 of 1978 whereby the appellant was found guilty of an offence under Section 395, IPC and was sentenced to undergo R. I. for seven years.

(2.) THE appellant was bailed out under order of this Court dated 3-4-1979 but since he did not appear at the hearing of the appeal on 18-3-1998, his bail was can celled and he was taken into custody and brought before this Court on 5-5-1998. He expressed his inability to engage a counsel, therefore, Sri N. I. Jafari an Advocate of this Court was appointed to assist the Court as amicus curiae on behalf of the appellant.

(3.) AT the trial several witnesses were examined. The conviction of the appellant is based on the evidence of Kaushal PW-1, Ram Gopal PW-3, Rajey PW-4 and Ram Kishan PW-5. A perusal of their state ments show that the appellant was very well known to each of them and yet he is not alleged to have taken any precaution whatsoever to conceal his identity. The statements of these witnesses are silent on the point and there is no explanation why this person who was very well known and was even making purchases from the shop of Kam Kishan PW-5 should have made no effort to conceal his identity. Then none of them assigns any positive role to the appellant and has not made any specific statement as to how a particular witness had the opportunity to identify him and what he was seen by the witnesses doing at the spot. None of them says whether he was amongst dacoits who stood on the roof threatening the villagers, whether he was the person who tortured the ladies with Mashal burns and whether he was the per son who hurt Ram Gopal. Ram Gopal PW-3 was injured in the occurrence. He stated that the dacoits did not allow him to move away from the cot where he was sleeping and that two of the dacoits remained standing near him. One of them was armed with a Lathi and the other with a Katta. He does not say that the appellant Asha Ram was one of those two persons. From his statement, it is clear that he could have no opportunity to identify the others. Rajey PW-4 when in his cross-examination has admitted that when he woke up he guesed that there were dacoits in the house and therefore, he covered himself with a sheet of cloth (Khes) and remained so till the dacoits left. Later he clarified that because the villagers were saying that Asha Ram was amongst the dacoits therefore, he thought he was there. Ram Kishan PW-5 also stated that he was on the roof and two dacoits remained standing near him. He managed to escape and went to the Gher of Channi. Although he says that Asha Ram was amongst the dacoits he does not clarify how he had an opportunity to see and identify him. Thus the evidence of these four witnesses was of a very perfunctory nature and required strong corroboration to be accepted. No such corroboration has been forth-coming in the case.