SUBHAS BARMAN Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this appeal against conviction of the appellants, six in number, under sec.304, Part I, I.P.C. read with sec. 34 thereof for committing culpable homicide not amounting to murder of one Kala Chand Paul of village Sikarpur within Mathabhanga P. S. as a result of injuries inflicted on him by lethal weapons such as spear, dagger, etc. at about 1/1.30 a.m. on the 30th May 1979, the only point for determination is whether the participation of the appellants or any of them has been proved beyond reasonable doubt in the circumstances as under.

(2.) The deceased Kala Chand Paul used to live with his wife Prativa Paul (P. W. 4) and 5 daughters Bharati (P.W. 2), Gangarani (P.W. 3), Jharna (P.W. 5). Rita (P.W. 6) and Jamuna (P.W. 7) and in the night of the incident, it was said, that they were all awakened from sleep by the noise of knocking at the door and although an effort was made to hold back the door from inside, a portion of it in the upper side gave way and through the hole thus opened, the appellants assaulted Kalachand with the weapons stated inflicting bleeding injuries on the temporal region, chest and abdomen. Jharna (P.W. 5) lit a lamp and raised it to some height and in its light, she could recognise two of the appellants, namely, Subhash Barman and Subhash Sarkar known to them from before. Gangarani (P.W. 3) recognised the appellant Sanjib Barman among the miscreants while Rita (P.W. 6) could recognise the appellant Satyen Saha. The two remaining appellants, namely, Arun Paul and Niranjan, were recognised by Jamuna (P.W.7). After inflicting the injuries, the miscreants left the place and in the following morning at about 7 a.m. Jharna (P.W. 5) took her father Kalachand to Sikarpur Choupathi on foot and from there in a cycle rickshaw to the place of her uncle Haran Chandra Paul (P.W. 1) at Mathabhanga. Haran (P.W. 1) took Kalachand to the Police Station where he wished to lodge a written complaint but it was not recorded. Thereafter Kalachand was taken to the local Primary Health Centre where Dr. B. Banerjee (P.W. 13) after some first aid sent Kalachand to the hospital at the District Head Quarter where he died on the 2nd June, 1979. Haran (P.W. 1) lodged FIR (Ext. 1/1) at the police station on the 31-5-79 in the afternoon.

(3.) The defence of the accused persons appeared to be that they were Congress workers and were falsely implicated at the instance of some members of a rival political party.