STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH Vs. RAMPRAKASH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Death Reference and appeals by the convicts challenging the verdict rendered against them finding them guilty under Ss.302 and 201, I.P.C., are heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgement. Although five persons were put up-on trial, learned Second Additional Sessions Judge, Morena, acquitted one of them, but finding the appellants guilty under S.302, I.P.C., imposed on each of them death sentence in addition to a sentence of seven years' R.I. under S.201, I.P.C.

(2.) For the murder of two persons, named Rameshwar and Gabbar, each of the appellants had been charged separately under S.302, I.P.C., the date of occurrence was given as 9-11-1984 specifying the place of occurrence, namely, field Akhepura on the bank of river Kwari, and the fact of strangulating and beheading the deceased. The frame of the charge amply reflects the dilemma which the prosecution had to face because of absence of any direct evidence of the occurrence. The investigation, it seems, started on a report being lodged at Dimni Police Station by P.W. 5 Mahesn Singh Bhadoriya that around noon, he came to notice two dead bodies lying near the river with heads cut off when he had gone to the field. Ex. P/9 is the FIR which he had lodged on 9-11-1984 at about 6.20 in the evening at Dimni Police Station.

(3.) The appellants, it is not disputed, hailed from different villages and none of them, it is also not disputed, resided either where the dead bodies were found or in the village from which the two deceased persons hailed. Appellants Ramprakash, Mansaram, Sultansingh and Munnilal are said to be residents of village Raghunathpur, Ramnagar, Umrao Ka Pura and Tutt Ka Pura respectively, albeit all under Police Station, Dimni. On the other hand, deceased 1 Rameshwar and Gabbar hailed from village Dhanela under Police Station, Noorabad. Except that the two dead bodies which P.W. 5 had seen were headless, nothing else has to be read in his deposition or even in Ex. P/9. In cross-examination though, P.W. 5 had to admit importantly that near the dead bodies, were also found a jersey, a towel, a pair of chappals, a pair of ropes and two books which the Police took away.