SURAJ PAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal has been preferred by Suraj Pal Singh, Atar Singh and Hart Singh against the judgment and order dated 15th September, 1980 of Sri Gaya Prasad, VI Additional Sessions Judge, Mainpuri convicting and sentencing the appellants under 5. 302, I.P.C. to imprisonment for life. The order was passed in Sessions Trial No. 11 of 1979.

(2.) The prosecution case is that the deceased Sriram was a resident of Allapur and was elder brother of the father of informant Quaim Singh. Sriram had only one son Tilak Singh, but unfortunately Tilak Singh expired about 20 or 22 years prior to the incident and was survived by his widow Smt. Ganga Devi. The F.I.R. states that Smt. Ganga Devi belonged to Nagla Badha, P.S. Karhal and after her husbands death she started living at the house of her father and sometimes she used to visit the house of the appellant Suraj Pal Singh. Deceased Sriram was an old man of about 90 years and with weak eye sight and he could walk with the help of a stick. After death of Tilak Singh, Sriram used to reside with Quaim Singh, the first informant of the case. The further case of the prosecution is that appellants Suraj Pal Singh etc. got a maintenance case filed against Sriram and in that case appellant Suraj Pal Singh was doing pairvi for Smt. Ganga Devi. Sriram contested the case of maintenance. He won this case from the High Court. The incident is said to have taken place on 5th January 1978 at about 7.30 A.M. It is alleged by the prosecution that Sriram had gone to answer the call of nature accompanied by Jagdish. Sriram went and sat in the field of Ram Singh, barber to ease and Jagdish stood at a distance of about 20 paces As soon as the deceased was able to ease, the three appellants emerged from the nearby sugarcane field of Mahraj Singh and started delivering spear blows upon the deceased. The deceased Sriram fell down and died as a result of the injuries received by him. Jagdish raised all attracting informant Quaim Singh and Karan pal. On the arrival of the witnesses the appellants escaped. Quaim Singh lodged an F.I.R. at police station Jasrana on the same, day at 9.30 A.M. at a distance of about two furlongs from the spot. The investigation was taken up by Sri Baij Nath Singh, Station Officer. The body was sent for post-mortem examination which was conducted by Dr. 8.S. Agarwal, P.W. 5 on 6-1-1978 at about3.00 P.M. The doctor found the following injuries on the person of Sriram:

(3.) At the trial the appellants pleaded not guilty and stated that they had been falsely implicated. In support of its case the prosecution examined three eye witnesses namely. P.W. 1 Quaim Singh. P.W. 2 Jagdish and P.W. 4 Karn Pal. However. P.W. Karn Pal did not support the prosecution version and was declared hostile. P.W. 3 Dr. S.S. Agarwal had conducted the post-mortem examination of the deceased. The formal witnesses. namely. Constable Rajpal Singh and P.W. 6 Baijnath Singh have also been examined. Constable Rajpal Singh was posted at the police station and he had taken the dead body for post-mortem examination while P.W. 6 Baij Nath investigated the case. The appellants did not examine any witnesses in their defence. After scrutinising the evidence on the record the learned trial Court convicted and sentenced the appellants as mentioned above. The appellants have now come up in appeal.