STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH Vs. BABULAL RAMRATAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an appeal from a judgment of the Sessions Judge of Indore acquitting the respondents Babulal Shukla and Lal Shukla of charges under Section 307, I. P. C. and Sections 19 (e) and (f) and Section 20 of the Indian Arms Act and Babulal Tiwari of a charge under Section 307, I. P. C. , read with Section 34, I. P. C. At the conclusion of the hearing of the appeal, we announced our decision of dismissing the appeal saying that the reasons for our decision would be given later on. Accordingly, we now proceed to give our reasons.

(2.) THE general nature of the case alleged by the prosecution was that Babulal Shukla was on terms of enmity with one Bhagwati for the last eight or ten years; that on the evening of 22nd November 1955, between 8-30 and 8-45 p. m. , when Bhagwati was at the shop of one Kanhaiyalal inflating the tyre of a cycle, the three accused persons and one Sahdev, who is said to be absconding, came in a car suddenly and stopped the car just behind Bhagwati; that Babulal shouted: and immediately afterwards all the four occupants of the car got down and Lal Shukla fired a revolver shot at Bhagwati, which missed him passing close to his ear; and that Bhagwati then sat down and the accused Babulal Shukla took the revolver from Lal Shukla and fired two shots at Bhagwati, which also missed. According to the prosecution, one of the shots hit a cycle-handle. The accused then got into the car and went away towards Malharganj. The first information report was lodged by Bhagwati in the Malharganj Police Station which is very close to the scene of occurrence. Bhagwati proceeded to the police station on cycle. The report was lodged at about 9 p. m. In the report, Bhagwati narrated the details of the incident making specific mention of the fact that one of the shots hit a cycle-handle and that Babulal Shukla fired at him on account of enmity. Lal Shukla and Babulal Tiwari also went to the police station to lodge a report. The prosecution stated that report was not taken down as they came to the police station after the arrival of Bhagwati and after his report had been recorded. The accused, however, say that they reached the police station before Bhagwati and their report to the effect that while they were proceeding in a car, Bhagwati obstructed the car near Kanhaiyalal's shop and that when they managed to drive the car away despite the obstruction Bhagwati fired three revolver shots at them. The police then took up investigation arid arrested Lal Shukla and Babulal Tiwari on the same night at about 1-30 a. m. The respondent Babulal Shukla was arrested in Bombay on 31st December 1955, at Victoria Terminus Railway Station, It was said that he absconded immediately after the occurrence. It was further alleged by the prosecution that on the afternoon of 7th December 1955, Kanhaiyalal noticed a glass-plate covering a picture in his shop broken and that he also found a hole in a wooden Balli (beam) just behind the picture. He informed Sub-Inspectors Narendra Singh and Shivcharansingh Bhadoria who happened to be in the neighbourhood. These two Sub-Inspectors found on inspection that the hole in the Balli contained a bullet. The Sub-Inspectors cut the portion of the Balli containing the bullet and made a seizure-memo of the picture and the Balli. According to the prosecution, on the 14th January 1956, Babulal Shukla gave information with regard to certain cartridges at the house of his maternal-uncle Surajbali; that the police then went with Babulal Shukla to Surajbali's house and there Surajbali, on being asked by the accused Babulal Shukla, produced four cartridges from a box as also a leather revolver case and a uniform said to belong to Sahdeo. These articles were seized by the police. It is said that on further interrogation, Babulal Shukla gave information to the police on 15th January 1956, at about 12-30 a. m. about his having lodged a revolver with his maternal-uncle Surajbali; that acting on this information the police went to Surajbali's house taking Babulal Shukla with them and there Surajbali brought out a revolver hidden in a pit some fifty or sixty paces outside the compound of his house. This revolver was loaded and contained five cartridges.

(3.) THE accused have denied having fired any shot at Bhagwati. The defence of Babulal Shukla was that he was going in a car along with Lal Shukla, Babulal Tiwari and Sahdev to fetch a doctor for his mother who was ill; that when he reached Kanhaiyalal's shop he found Bhagwati and some five or six other persons blocking the road; that when the car was not allowed to move further they had to stop the car, and then Bhagwati whipped out a pistol and fired at them and thereafter they proceeded in the car; and that later on he left Lal Shukla and Babulal Tiwari to lodge a report in the police station and he himself went to fetch a doctor for his mother. According to the accused persons they reached the police station before "bhagwati came there. The plea of Babulal Tiwari and Lal Shukla was also to the same effect.