NAVEEN CHANDRA Vs. STATE OF UTTARANCHAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) Challenge in this appeal is to the judgment rendered by a Division Bench of the Uttaranchal High Court dismissing the appeal filed by the appellant while allowing the appeals filed by two others, i.e., parents of the appellant. Appellant was convicted for offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, I860, (in short the I.P.C.) read with Section 34 of the I.P.C. While the appellant was awarded death sentence, the other two were sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life. All the three accused -persons were convicted for offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34, I.P.C. In view of the award of death sentence a reference was made to the High Court for confirmation in terms of Section 366 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (in short the Code). By the impugned judgment the High Court directed acquittal of accused Smt. Kamla Devi and accused Sh. Nanda Ballabh and the death sentence was converted to life imprisonment and the appeal filed by the present appellant was partly allowed.

(3.) The background facts in a nutshell are as follows: All the three accused came to be tried by the Sessions Judge, Bageshwar in Session Trial No. 30 of 2001, wherein all the three accused were charged for an offence under Section 302 read with Section 34, I.P.C. on the allegation that on 2.6.2001, the three accused persons in furtherance of their common intention, had committed murder of Ganesh Dutt s/ o Prem Ballabh, Smt. Janki Devi w/o Ganesh Dutt and Sandeep s/o Ganesh Dutt (each of them hereinafter described as deceased by respective name). While the accused persons were the husband, wife and son, the deceased were also the husband, wife and son. Interestingly, original accused No. 1 Nanda Ballabh is the real brother of the deceased Ganesh Dutt. Relationships between the two brothers, namely, original accused No. 1 Nanda Ballabh and the deceased Ganesh Dutt were strained on account of family matters. They were all residents of the Village Baira Majhara, Tehsil Kapkot, District Bageshwar and their houses are almost adjoining to each other. On the fateful day, i.e., on 2.6.2001, there was an altercation between Nanda Ballabh and his family members on one hand and deceased Ganesh Dutt and his family members on the other during the day time in which deceased Ganesh Dutt received an injury to his head. Conciliation was to be arranged through a panchayat at the instance of original accused No. 1 Nanda Ballabh, who had sought the intervention of Bhupal Dutta and others on the ground that his brother deceased Ganesh Dutt was continuously troubling him and continuously hurling abuses. This was at 7.00 a.m. and thereafter, there was an altercation during the day time. Bhupal Dutta, therefore, went alongwith some others to the house of original accused No. 1 Nanda Ballabh where 7 or 8 other persons were already present. This was at about 5.00 p.m. At the instance of original accused No. 1 Nanda Ballabh, Ganesh Dutt was called by Bhupal Dutt, one Bishan Dutt and Govind Ballabh. They found that Ganesh Dutt already had an injury on his head, yet he came alongwith them to the Courtyard in between the houses of original accused No. 1 Nanda Ballabh and the deceased Ganesh Dutt. On being asked as to what the dispute between the two brothers was about, deceased Ganesh Dutt allegedly lost his temper and started abusing the original accused No. 1 Nanda Ballabh. Thereafter, the persons, who were there, took him back to his house. However, deceased Ganesh Dutt, again came back and held the hand of his sister -in -law, i.e., original accused No. 2. After this, there was an altercation between original accused No. 1 Nanda Ballabh. In the meantime, original accused No. 3 appellant -Naveen Chandra rushed and injured deceased Ganesh Dutt on his head by a weapon called "khukri". Deceased Smt. Janki Devi w/o Ganesh Dutt, also came there praying to spare deceased Ganesh Dutt, but she was also attacked by the original accused No. 3 appellant -Naveeen Chandra on her face and head. Though the persons present requested original accused No. 3, appellant -Naveen Chandra to spare the others, he ran up to the house of deceased Ganesh Dutt, where Ganesh Dutts son Sandeep Dutt, namely, Manish Kumar (P.W. 3) took to his heels while the other son Mukesh hid himself. Deceased Ganesh Dutt died on the spot while his wife Smt. Janki Devi and son Sandeep were seriously injured. The Gram Pradhan was called and the injured were kept in the Varanda of Ganesh Dutts house, but they also died during the same night.