VIKRAMA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) -This is an appeal against the judgment and order dated 6.12.1980 passed by Sri A. K. Agrawal, the then Vth Additional Sessions Judge, Ballia in S. T. No. 257 of 1979 and S. T. No. 30 of 1980, whereby he convicted the accused Vikrama of the offence under Section 395 read with Section 397, I.P.C. and sentenced him to undergo R.I. for a period of 7 years.

(2.) THE prosecution story was as follows : THE Tilak of the daughter of Bachchan Lal informant was to be sent on 1.6.1979 for which his relatives had come. In the night between 31.5.1979/1.6.1979, the informant, Ram Barai Lal and Vindhyachal Lal and others were sleeping outside the main door of his house. A lantern was hanging from aukumi in front of his Osara and burning. Women were sleeping inside the house and Ashok Kumar and Nitya Nand were sleeping on the roof of the house. At about 00.15 hours in the night on the barking of the dogs, Ram Barai Lal got up and awakened the informant Bachchan Lal and others. THEy saw 8-9 dacoits at their door one of whom had a gun and the others were armed with Lathis. THE dacoits were also flashing their torches. THE dacoits started beating the informant and others who were outside the house and due to their hue and cry, the wife of Vindhyachal Lal opened the main door of the house, whereupon 3-4 dacoits entered into the house and looted ornaments and cash from a box kept in the northern room of the house by breaking open the box. Ashok Kumar came down from the roof to the main door, whereupon, the dacoits beat him with Lathis. Sudama Singh and other witnesses came on the spot flashing their torches and the faces of the dacoits were seen in the light of the lantern, the torches of the witnesses and the torches of the dacoits. After committing dacoity, the dacoits escaped towards north along with the looted property firing from gun leaving behind a misfired cartridge, a discharged cartridge and the grip of a gun on the spot. Bachchan Lal informant went to the police station and lodged his F.I.R. at the police station at 6 a.m. on 1.6.1979 naming two persons and claiming that the rest of the culprits were not known.

(3.) I have heard learned counsel for the parties and also gone through the record. The fact that a dacoity was committed at the house of Bachchan Lal informant (P.W. 1) in village Maritar was established beyond every shadow of doubt. There was eye-witness account of the dacoity given by Bachchan Lal informant (P.W. 1), Nitya Nand (P.W. 2), Ashok Kumar (P.W. 3) and Vindhyachal Lal (P.W. 4). There were as many as six injured in this case. Bachchan Lal, Ashok Kumar and Vindhyachal Lal P.Ws. themselves were injured and besides them Smt. Gauri Devi, wife of Vindhyachal Lal, Ram Barai and Raj Kishore Lal were also injured in this occurrence. Their medical evidence has come on record which has not been challenged. The factum of dacoity was not challenged before the trial court and the plea of the accused persons was that they had not participated in the dacoity and they have been falsely implicated in the dacoity. Before this Court also, the factum of dacoity has not been challenged.