JAMUNA CHAUDHUR Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THERE are three appel. lants in this oase and appellant No. 1 is the father of appellant Nos. 2 and 3. All these appellants have been convicted Under Section 301/34, Indian Penal Code and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six years. Appellant No. 3, Kanhai Chaudhur, has r also been convicted of the offence Under Section 523, Indian Penal Code, and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months. Thia latter sejitenoe is to run con-ourrently.

(2.) THE oase of the proseoution briefly stated is as follows. Gunjeshwar Chaudbur is the informant in this case and he is P.W. 6. THE deceased, Bikarma Chaudhur, waa his full brother. THE occurrence ia said to have taken place in village Bajpur within Mirgani Police station in the district of Saran. Now, accord. ing to the proseoution, there are lands of both the parties situated near about the same plaoe and the appellants are said to be the Patiidars of the familvof the informant. THEre had been Borne dispute between the parties in respeot of the jhura on the respective lands and it is said that on the 29th of May, 1965, that is to BJy, just a day previous to the oaourrenoe, the informant's elder brother, Bikarma Chaudhur, that is, the deceased, had gone to the field to - see his 9 kathas of land and far having the same ploughed up and on reaching there he saw that 19 kathas land of the aocuaed persona had been ploughed up and he alao found that a substantial : portion of the hedge from the southern side bad been uprooted. Bikarma Chaudbur reported the matter to his brother, that i3, the informant, in the afternoon, On that very day, in the evening, the informant and his brother, Bikarma Chaudhur, had gone to the residence of the accused persons to '-i lodge protest as to why they had uprooted some portion of the hedge (Jhur) in their absence when this waa as the common dividing line between their lands. On aooount of the protest so made, it was agreed that the matter should be settled up and, accordingly, on the next day, that is on the day of occurrence, that is, 30.5.65, at about 10 to 11 A. M., the deceased Bikarma and bisbrother, the informant of this oase, had left their house at 10 or 11 A. M. for their field and while going to their field they had taken :two persona, namely, Baghunandan Chauihur (P.W. 1) and Sukat Chamar (P. \V. 3) in their company and another person, named Mahendra Bberihar whom they met on the way. THEse persons had gone there to aofc as Punohaa for the settlement of the dispute and the controversy, which had arieen. On arrival on the land in question, the informant found that all the three accused persons, that is, present appellants, were present in their southern land near the dividing hedge, but they had not brought any Punch with them as was agreed between the parties. THE informant and others went near the hedge and pointed out to those persons there about the highhandedness of the accused persona in wrongfully uprooting a portion of the hedge from the southern side of the ridge. THE further oase of the prosecution was that there was exchange of words and altercation between the aoaused persons on the one hand and the informant and his brother Bikarma Ohaudhur, on the other, and, in:the meantime, the accused Kanhai Ohaudhur is said to have oaught hold of the informant by hand and began beating him with fists and slaps and the other two accused, namely, Jamuna Chaudhur and Jagarnath Chaudhur fell upon Bikarma Chaudhur and are said to have caught hold of him by hand and started beating him with kicks, fists and slaps, whereupon the victim Bikarma Chaudhur is alleged to have fallen down on the ground in the khet (field) of Mukhi Koieri. But, even thereafter the two aoauaed persons, namely, Jamuna Chaudhur and Jagarnath Chaudhur are alleged to have gone on assaulting Bikaima Chaudhur wi ih fists, kicks and slaps on his face, neok and abdomen. THE further case of the proseoution was that after Bikarma Chaudbur, deceased, had fallen down on the ground, the acoused, Kanhai left beating the informant and rushed upto the plaoa where Bikarma Chaudhur was lying and dealt a heavy kick to him in his abdomen. THE Informant rushed to the place where his brother Bikarma was lying on the ground and on reaching near him, he found him unconscious and he also found slight bleeding from bis mouth and noatrila.

(3.) THE defenoe of all the acoused persons waa that they had not committed any offence and that they were not guilty of any of the oharges.