NARESH KUMAR SHARMA Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Appellant Naresh Kumar Sharma and three others were convicted by a learned Additional Session Judge. 24-Parganas under sections 302/34, Indian Penal Code for committing murder of Subhala Das, a taxi driver, in furtherance of their common intention on 29th June, 1979 at Gopalpur within P.S. Airport and sentenced to imprisonment for life. The appellant was also convicted along with others under sections 394/34, Indian Penal Code for committing robbery in respect of taxi No. WST 2706 and the property of the deceased at Shekharpur within P.S. Rajarhat in furtherance of the common intention of them all and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 7 years. The appellant seeks to assail the said order of conviction and sentence in this appeal.

(2.) Shorn of unnecessary details, the prosecution case is as under:Taxi No. WBT 2706 is owned by P.W. 7 Smt. Ruby Bose on whose behalf husband Ranjit Bose (P.W. 5) used to look after the taxi business. Subhalal deceased was the driver of the taxi at the relevant time. The taxi used to be kept in a garage at 12/B, Cames street within P.S. Park Street. The driver used to take out the taxi from the garage in the morning by signing in the Garage Register and return the taxi to the garage at the end of the day. In course of this usual practice, the driver took out the taxi from the garage on the morning of 29.6.79 and at that time P.W. 5 Ranjit Bose was with the driver. Four, persons boarded the taxi near the Ujjala Cinema. P.W. 5 went in the taxi upto Hasra Road. Thereafter, the driver drove away the taxi with the four passengers. On that night the driver did not return to the garage with the taxi. On the following morning P.W. 5 Ranjit Bose came to the garage but could not find the taxi or the driver there. - He lodged a missing information at Park Street Police Station. On 29.6.79 at about 8.30 p.m. accused Basudeb and 3 others including appellant Naresh were seen going to Shekharpur in the said taxi No. WBT 2706. Two of the companions of Basudeb including the appellant left Shekharpur while Basudeb and Asit remained at Shekharpur with the taxi. Basudeb was found changing the number of the taxi by altering the first digit in the rear number plate. The first digit was found to have been altered to 8 in place of 2. P.W. 10 Sagar Roy, a resident of village Shekharpur found Basudeb changing the number of the rear number plate of the taxi. Out of suspicion he reported the matter to the village resistance party and P.W. 21 constable Haripada Sur and another constable of Rajarhat Police Station who had come to the village on night patrol duty. The two constables then challenged accused Basudeb and Asit who could not offer satisfactory explanation for their possession of the taxi with the number in the rear number plate altered. The constables then took these two accused persons along with the taxi to Rajarhat Police Station. An attached case with wearing apparel two tin containers with black and white paint, one brush and a signed photograph of Basudeb and some papers relating to the taxi were recovered from the taxi. In the mean time, on the morning of 30.6.79 P.W.20 Arun. Baidya found the driving licence of the deceased lying on the road and he deposited the same at Rajarhat Police Station. P.W.4 found the dead body of the deceased by the side of the railway line and informed the Airport Police Station over telephone about the discovery of the dead body. On receipt of the telephonic message P.W. 30 S.I. Ranjit Narayan Majunder went to Gopalpur with force and found a dead body lying in a bush of Kalmi plant to the north of the old railway line with a napkin tied round the neck. One Biswanath Mandal, since deceased, made over a written complaint to him, which was forwarded to tie police station for starting a case. On the basis of the written complaint the f formal First Information Report was drawn up at Airport Police Station and a case under section 302, Indian Penal Code was started against unknown persons. P.W. 30 took up investigation. On receipt of a telephonic message from the Rajarhat Police Station, P. W. 30 went to Rajarhat Police Station, and seized the taxi in question and other articles and took accused Basudeb and Asit into custody. Thereafter, P.W. 5 Ranjit Bose was contacted and he went to Barrackpur morgue where the dead body had been sent and identified the dead body as that of deceased driver Subhalal Das. The two other accused persons Mannan Sardar and Naresh Sharma were subsequently arrested by the police. Mannan Sardar and Naresh Sharma made confessional statements to the Magistrate at Barrackpur which were recorded under section 164 Cr. P.C.

(3.) After completion of the investigation charge-sheet was submitted against the accused persons under sections 302/34, Indian Penal Code and Sections 394/34. Indian Penal Code, which in usual course ended in committal of the case to the Court of Session.