VINOD KUMAR @ KALU Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS order shall dispose of Criminal Appeal No. S -964 - SB of 1999 and Criminal Revision No. 299 of 2001 as the common question of law and facts arises for consideration. For brevity, the facts are being taken from Criminal Appeal No. S -964 -SB of 1999. Present appeal is directed against the order of conviction dated 1.10.1999 convicting the nine appellants for the offences under Sections 436 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sentencing them to undergo a rigorous imprisonment of four years each and to pay a fine of Rs. 500/ - each under Sections 149 and 436 of IPC. In default of payment of fine, appellants were directed to suffer three months rigorous imprisonment.

(2.) LEARNED Counsel for the Appellant submitted that appellant No. 3, Madan Lal son of Prem Chand and appellant No. 9, Radhey Sham son of Audhalal have died. During the pendency of the appeal, such fact is not disputed by the Learned DAG, Haryana. In view of the said fact, the appeal filed by appellants No. 3 and 9 stand abated.

(3.) APPELLANTS and other nine accused were charged for the offences under Section 148 and 395 read with Sections 149 of IPC and under Sections 148 and 436 read with Section 149 of IPC. Apart from the formal witnesses prosecution examined PW -5 - Bhagwan Dass; PW -6 - Subhash and PW -7 Ramesh Kumar son of Bhagwan Dass. The learned trail Court after considering the evidence led by the prosecution, keeping in view the allegations in FIR Ex. PA/2, convicted the present appellants. The reasoning given by the learned trial Court is that though all the accused have been made to stand trial but the names of appellants were disclosed in the FIR, the first version. Learned trial Court also found that the offence under Section 395 IPC is not made out from the evidence on record.