AMARSINGH Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Three persons were booked for committing murder of Ram Roop, of whom two were acquitted. Appellant being one of them and having suffered conviction u/S. 302 IPC has challenged that and also sentence of rigorous imprisonment for life imposed on him.

(2.) On two short grounds, appellant's counsel Shri B. N. Kulshrestha, has assailled the verdict. His first contention is that the trial Court applied double standard in appreciating evidence and erred in law in convicting the appellant while acquitting on the same evidence the other two co-accused. Secondly, he submits, at most conviction of the appellant on the evidence may be justifiable u/S.304 Part II, IPC. Learned Additional Sessions Judge erred in law in ignoring the fact that the case of the appellant was covered by Exceptions (2) and (4) of S.300 IPC.

(3.) Be it stated at the outset that the appellant specifically pleaded right of private defence and, in our view, that plea has been rejected on erroneous consideration of facts and law. In any case, we may state briefly prosecution's version of the incident set out in FIR on which itself the plea appears to us to be well founded. P.W. 1, Maniram, lodged the FIR at 9.00 p.m. on 25-3-1978 that at Chandra-Ka-Pura, at a distance of 5 miles from the Police Station, on the same date, at around 6.00 p.m., incident had occurred, Holi festival was being observed during that period and at Ramnath-Ka-Pura, he, as also some other persons including, P.Ws.3, 4 and deceased, were singing song and making merry. At around 6.00 p.m. they were informed that at Chandra-Ka-Pura there was some quarrel between accused Amarsingh and P.W.3, Hearing that deceased Ramroop left for that place and he was followed by P.W. 1 as also P.W. 4, Chhotelal. Ram Roop went with his 12 bore gun and on his person he carried a belt full of cartridges. As soon as Ram Roop climbed to the roof of Vijayasingh's house he was assaulted there with a pharsa by appellant, Amarsingh, and thereafter by the co-accused. Chandrapalsingh, who was armed with a Barchhi (spear) and Jagannath Singh, who was armed with lathi, also assaulted him. It is also prosecution's case stated in FIR that Amarsingh fled from the place of occurrence after Ram Roop fell dead and with him he took away the gun and cartridges of deceased Ram Roop.