LAKSHMAN NONIA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) All these three appellants have been convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (for short 'the Penal Code') and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life Appellant No. 2 has further been convicted under Section 324 of the Penal Code and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) Five accused persons were tried in S. T. No, 84 of 1987, out of them two were acquitted and the aforesaid three appellants have been convicted as indicated above.

(3.) The prosecution case, in short, is as follows: PW 1 Damodar Upadhaya gave a fardbeyan (Ext. 2) on 12-4-1985 before the Officer Incharge, Chautarwa police station at his village Mathia in the district of West Champran alleging inter alia, that he along with Mallu Gorh (deceased) and Sitaram Gorai, PW 3 and one Amin, namely, Nand Kishore Prasad, PW 4 had gone to measure the land of deceased Mallu Gorh in Sareh in the same village. While the lands were being measured, the aforesaid appellants along with two other co-accused (since acquitted) came there armed with pharsa and Dabila and they abused the deceased Mallu Gorh and appellant No. 1 Lakshman Nonia hit head with Pharsa whereby the deceased fell down on the ground. Thereafter appellant Bindu Nonia and appellant Bikram Nonia started giving Dabila blows on him. When the informant tried to prevent them, they became ready to assult him as well. He fled away and raised hulla. It is said that on hulla Chowkidar Deonarain, PW 2 came there. He also tried to save Mallu Gorh but appellant Bikram Nonia attacked him with Pharsa whereby he also received injuries on his shoulder. PW 2 Deonarain also fled away. After the incident, the appellants fled away. The informant and the witnesses went to the said land and found Mallu Gorh dead there. The further case of the prosecution is that the house of Mallu Gorh is situated in village Parsa within Bagha police station. He had come to this village in the evening of 11-4-1985 for getting the land measured as he had inherited the land of his father-in-law Ramdhani Gorh as he had no son.