NEERA LAL Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Neera Lal, appellant No.1, has been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 396 of the Indian Penal Code while appellant Ram Saran has been convicted and sentenced to ten years R. I. under Section 412 of the Indian Penal Code by Sri J.S. Mishra, and Additional District and Sessions Judge, Fatehpur by judgment dated 10-8-1978.

(2.) In brief, the facts of the prosecution case are that in the night in between 5th and 6th May, 1976 a dacoity had taken place at the house of Ram Charan in village Dewara, P.S. Sultanpur Ghosh, district Fatehpur. In the course of the dacoity the dacoits had killed Ram Charan and had succeeded in escaping with the looted property including a Petromex which was scribed in the First Information Report as Gas Batti. A written report (Ex. Ka-1) of the occurrence was lodged on the following day at 10 a.m. at the Police Station at a distance of two miles from the scene of occurrence. The report was lodged by one Som Dutt (P.W.1) who is not an inmate of the house of Ram Charan, deceased, nor his relation. On the basis of the report a case under Section 396 of the Indian Penal Code was registered and investigation started. The dead body of Ram Charan deceased was sent for post mortem. Both these appellants are alleged to have been apprehended on 2nd June, 1976 by Pramod Shanker Srivastava, S.I. (P.W. 11) at about 11 a.m. near a tube well on the Mughal Road. From the possession of the appellant Ram Saran Petromax (Ex. 3) on which name Kashi Prasad was engraved is alleged to have been recovered. Thereafter both these appellants were made Bapardah and their identification took place on 3rd July, 1976 wherein they were correctly picked up by Som Dutt (P.W.1), Bhola (P.W.2), and Sukkha (P.W.4). The appellants were charged-sheeted and tried along with other accused of Session Trial No. 73 of 1977 under Section 412 of the Indian Penal Code. They were, however, acquitted but these two appellants of S. T. No. 87 of 1977 were found guilty and convicted and sentenced as above, hence this appeal.

(3.) On behalf of the appellants the fact of the occurrence and that during the course of dacoity Ram Charan was killed have not been disputed. We have perused the prosecution evidence of Som Dutt (P.W.1), Bhola (P.W.2) and Sukkha (P.W. 4), the three eye witnesses and the post-mortem report etc. and we, therefore, hold that the factum of occurrence no doubt stands fully proved. On behalf of the appellants it was argued by the learned counsel that the identification evidence against Heera Lal and the recovery evidence of the Petromax from the possession of Ram Saran was not credible and they were, therefore, entitled to be acquitted.