RAMA SHANKAR MISTIY Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both these appellants have been heard together as they arise out of same case and are directed against a common judgment by which the two appellants of Criminal Appeal No. 565 of 1993, Rama Shankar Mistry and Ram Brikch Mistry and sole appellant of Criminal Appeal No. 22 of 1994, Lakhan Mistry have been convicted for offences under Sections 302/34 and 324/34 and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life and one year res- pectively. Both the sentences have been ordered to run concurrently. Appellant Rama Shankar Mistry has been acquitted of charge under Section 307, IPC and other appellants of charge under Section 307/34, IPC for attempting to commit murder of Brij Nandan Mistry, the informant of this case (PW 5) and his brother, Prabhu Mistry (PW 3). The de- ceased in this case is Ram Dahin Mistry, father of the informant and Prabhu Mistry (PW 3) and Girija Mistry (PW 4).

(2.) As per prosecution case, on 26.1.1991 at 1 p.m. while the informant was sleeping in his house with his family and his two brothers were sleeping in their common house with their family and the deceased was sleeping outside in the verandah along with minor son of the informant, the deceased cried for help and shouted that the three accused were trying to kill him. According to version of the informant in the fardbeyan as soon as he opened the door and came out all the three accused/appellants began to assault him. On hulla, his brother Prabhu Mistry came out of his house. The informant was assaulted with a lathi fitted with farsa on head by Rama Shankar which caused bleeding injury on head. On the orders of accused Lakhan Mistry, accused Ram Brikch Mistry caused a farsa injury on the left side of the body. The informant fell down. Thereafter, all the three accused together assaulted brother of the informant, Prabhu Mistry (PW 3). On this Other brother of the informant, Girija Mistry (PW 4) and female inmates raised hulla and shouted for help of the villagers. On this the accused-persons dragged the dead body of the deceased to a kachha road in front of entrance to the house with a view to behead him but hearing the arrival of villagers, they left the dead body and fled away. According to the fardbeyan, the occurrence was witnessed by members of the family and the informant, his brothers and some villagers including Nageshwar Yadav (PW 1) and Badri Yadav (PW 2).

(3.) The information of the occurrence, according to the prosecution, was given to the chaukidar in the night itself but he preferred to report to the police station in the morning and on arrival of the police in the village, the fardbeyan was recorded on 27.1.1991 at 7.15 a.m. As per fardbeyan, the motive for the occurrence was the fact that accused-persons are step brother and nephews of the deceased and they were demanding share in 1-1/2 bighas of land which was in the name of the deceased. This dispute had led to holding of Panchayati on several occasions but the Panchayati was unsuccessful. According to the informant, even on 26.1.1991 ie. the date of occurrence some altercation had taken place between the wife of the informant on the one side and two women, namely, Radhia Devi and Balmati Devi belonging to the family of the accused-persons and in that incident Radhia Devi from the family of the accused had sustained some injury in the head.