SK. MANZOOR Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Sk. Reyazul is the sole appellant in Criminal Appeal No. 65 of 1967 and Sk. Manzoor is the sole appellant in the other appeal, namely, Criminal Appeal No. 64 of 1967. They were tried separately in the Court of the Sessions Judge, Champaran at Motihari. The learned Judge has convicted both of them under Sec. 436 of the Indian Penal Code and each has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years. The two appeals have been heard together and they will be disposed of by this judgment. It appears that the two appellants were accused in respect of the same offence of arson committed on the same date and at the same time and place of occurrence and both of them were committed to the Court of Session by the same commitment proceeding. At the time of trial, however, as it appears from the order sheet of the trial court dated the 25th November, 1966, Sk. Reyazul (appellant in Criminal Appeal No. 65 of 1967) was present in court but the other accused, namely, Sk. Manzoor (appellant in Criminal Appeal No. 64 of 1967) was found absent. A few prosecution witnesses were also present. A petition was filed on behalf of Sk. Reyazul to the effect that Sk. Manzoor had gone to Darbhanga two weeks ago for his medical treatment. The prosecution, therefore, prayed that the trial of Sk. Manzoor should be split up in the circumstances and the prayer was allowed. The hearing of the case against Sk. Reyazul opened on that date and it concluded on the 18th January, 1967. The judgment in the case was reserved till the 30th January, 1967. In the meantime the hearing of the case against Sk. Manzoor, (appellant in Criminal Appeal No. 64 of 1967) was taken up on the 12th December, 1966, and it concluded on the 18th January, 1967. The judgment was reserved till the 30th January, 1967, on which date two separate judgments in the two cases against the appellants were delivered by the learned Sessions Judge.

(2.) The occurrence of this case took place on the 18th April. 1964, at about 10 P.M. at village Serwa within Ramnagar Police Station, in which it was alleged that a palani of Sk. Md. Hakik, who happened to be the father of the two appellants, was set on fire. The palani was in use for keeping articles of the house -hold, besides bhusa for the cattle. The prosecution case is that Sk. Hakik, the first informant in this case, owned and possessed a few bighas of land and he used to live separate from his sons in his own house. Sometime before the occurrence, the informant had distributed major portion of his lands amongst his sons and retained a small portion of the same for his own maintenance and out of which 4 kathas were given in zerpeshgi to one Amin Mian. His sons, namely, Sk. Manzoor, Sk. Reyazul and Sk. Mukhtear became annoyed with him over it and instituted some cases. According to prosecution, in the night of occurrence at about 10 P.M. while the informant was sitting at his darwaja, one Chinta Ahir and the informant's sons Mukhtear, Sk. Reyazul and Sk. Manzoor came there and Chinta Ahir and Sk. Mukhtear began to abuse him and Sk. Manzoor and Sk. Reyazul set fire to the western tatti wall of his house, as a result of which it was wholly burnt. Mukhtear was uprooting the tatti of the house and throwing the same in the fire. The properties, including paddy, rice, and furniture of the value of Rs. 1200/ - approximately were burnt in the fire. On the next day at about 1 P.M. Sk. Hakik went to the police station and lodged first information report of this case. The police instituted a case, took up investigation and submitted charge -sheet against the two appellants only.

(3.) The defence of the appellants was that they were falsely implicated in the case and that the cow -shed and not the residential house of the informant somehow caught fire and got burnt.