PARDEEP KUMAR Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE instant appeal is directed against the judgment, rendered on 11.9.2009, by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Una, District Una, H.P., in Sessions Case No. 22 of 2008, whereby, the appellants/accused persons have been convicted and sentenced as under: -

(2.) THE brief facts of the case are that the deceased Ram Kumar, followed by his father Sarwan Kumar (PW -3), had been returning home at about 2:30 p.m., on 10.6.2008, from the house of Kishan Kalia, where a Kirtan was being held. When the deceased Ram Kumar had reached near the intersection of the two Gallies, the accused persons, namely, Pardeep Kumar, Sandeep Kumar, Ram Kishan, Neel Kanth, Bhagwanti Devi and Saroj Kumari pounced upon him. They started beating and dragging him towards their house. The prosecution version is that the accused Pardeep was holding Ram Kumar from the arm, accused Bhagwanti had caught hold of him from his waist, accused Ram Kishan was giving beatings to him with a stick (Dhangu) and accused Neel Kanth was exhorting the other accused, to take the deceased inside to teach him a lesson. Thereafter, accused Sandeep Kumar is said to have come from inside armed with an axe and had given a blow on the right arm of the deceased. The deceased, as such, staggered and the very next moment accused Sandeep had given him another blow on his head with the backside of the axe. The other co -accused, namely, Pardeep Kumar was carrying a Drat and had been brandishing the same to ward off people coming from the opposite direction. He is also alleged to have given one Drat blow to Raman Kumar (PW -1) on his right leg and a blow to Sarwan Kumar (PW -3), on his thigh. The act attributed to other co -accused, namely, Ram Kishan is of his delivering a blow with a Dhangu, to, the grandmother of Ram Kumar (PW -1) near her ears and accused Neel Kanth was attributed with the act of delivering a blow with a stick to Daman Kumar, the brother of the deceased and Kanta Devi, the mother of the deceased. On alarm having been raised by PW -3, Sarwan Kumar, the father of the deceased and one Roshni Devi (PW -5), a neighbour of both the parties, people started flocking at the scene, hence, all the accused persons fled away from the place of occurrence. Ram Kumar (deceased) was immediately rushed to Zonal Hospital, Una, where he was declared brought dead. On the statement of Raman Kumar under Section 154 Cr.P.C., F.I.R. Ext. PW -13/A was registered at Police Station, Una.

(3.) THE accused was charged for theirs having committed offences punishable under Sections 302, 324, 323 read with Section 34 of the IPC by the learned trial Court to which they pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.