LAL MAN Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Two appellants, namely, Lalman and Tej Singh have preferred this appeal against the judgment and order dated 15-3-1980 passed by Sri Sachidanand, the then Sessions Judge, Farrukhabad in Sessions Trial No.334 of 1979. He convicted both the appellants under Sections 394/397 I.P.C. and sentenced each of them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for eight years. Appellant Lalman was further convicted under Sec. 302 I.P.C. and sentenced to undergo life imprisonment.

(2.) Lalman died during the pendency of the appeal and the same abated against him by order dated 20-7-1998. Therefore, presently we are concerned only with the other appellant Tej Singh. He happened to be the brother-in-law of the deceased appellant Lalman being the husband of his sister.

(3.) Shortly put, the case of prosecution was that at about mid night in between 6/7-10-1979 in village Sithauli, Police Station Mohammadabad, District Farrukhabad, the present appellant, deceased appellant Lalman and two others raided the house of Ram Charan and committed robbery. Both of them, who were carrying guns, had remained on guard outside Ram Charan's house while their two other companions had gone inside and looted the property from the house of Ram Charan. An alarm had been raised by the women folk and childern of his family where upon he and his brother Dashrath woke up. They were sleeping in their Gonda at a short distance of their house. They came running, flashing torches and saw the present appellant and the deceased appellant Lalman standing guard with guns. Ram Charan and his brother also raised alarm whereupon their neighbour Ziledar alias Ramesh Chandra living in the house across the lane emerged into the lane. The deceased appellant Lalman shot with his gun on Ziledar alias Ramesh Chandra from point blank range. He fell down dead. The other villagers too joined him in raising alarm. Thereafter the appellants and their two companions who then emerged from Ram Charan's house and only armed with dandas and articles looted from the house, ran away to the south. Ram Charan went inside the house and found that his valuables such as clothes and ornaments worth at Rs. 1000.00 had been looted away. He got a report of incident written and took the same to the Police Station where he lodged it at 3.15 A.M. the same night. A case was registered. The investigation followed as usual. The corpse of Ziledar alias Ramesh Chandra was subjected to post-mortem which was conducted on 8-10-1977 at 2 P. M. by Dr. K.K. Agarwal PW2. He had died on gunshot injury. On conclusion of investigation, the two appellants were booked for trial.