GANGESHWARI DEVI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS revision application has been directed against the order of acquittal recorded by Sessions Judge, Vaishali at Hajipur in Sessions Trial No. 124 of 1999 under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, whereby he acquitted the accused/opposite parties Nos. 2 to 5.

(2.) THE FIR was lodged on the basis of the fardbeyan of the informant (PW 9) which was recorded at the place of occurrence without any delay. According to the fardbeyan the deceased had gone to take tea in the shop of Ram Prasad Sah (PW 2) situated at Dewa Chowk along with his Bhagiras. After sometime, the informant went there to call him and the deceased told the informant that he will be coming soon. While the informant was waiting for him at a distance of about two laggis on the west by the side of the road, after ten minutes a jeep came and stopped near the shop of Ram Prasad Sah, four unknown persons got down from the jeep and took position towards the north side. Thereafter, accused/opposite party Nos. 2 to 5 also got down from the same jeep armed with Bhujali, dagger etc. and they assaulted the deceased with their respective weapon indiscriminately. In course of the occurrence two to three bombs were also exploded and the neighbouring shop keepers fled away. It is staled that the informants brother Baleshwar Rai and Sarpanch Jagdhari Singh who had witnessed the occurrence tried to save the deceased and resisted the assailants but they were also attacked, so they fled away. The informant went near his son and found that her son is dead with several injuries on his person. The accused/ opposite parties were put on trial and denied the charges.

(3.) IN order to prove the charges, the prosecution examined as many as 11 witnesses, including the doctor and the IO who are PWs 10 and 11. It appears from the impugned order that save and except PWs 3 and 9, the other witnesses either turned volte face or their evidence were not found reliable. Therefore, the case of the prosecution rested on the evidence of PWs, 3 and 9 who claimed to be eye -witnesses to the occurrence.