STATE OF BIHAR Vs. BAIDYANATH JHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Government appeal has been filed against the judgment and order of acquittal dated 10 th of April, 1989 passed by Shri Raj Kishore Sharma, 3 rd Additional Sessions Judge, Madhubani, in Sessions Trial No. 111 of 1984 / 48 of 1988.

(2.) In the aforesaid case, altogether 11 accused persons were sent up for trial and the trial court after holding the trial found the accused persons not guilty to the charges framed against them and they all were acquitted. The State filed leave to appeal and at the stage of admission itself though by order dated 26.7.1989 passed by a Division Bench of this Court, leave was granted and the appeal was admitted so far as respondent no. 1 Baidya Nath Jha, son of Madhab Jha was concerned. However, by the said order, the appeal was dismissed so far as remaining respondents, i.e. respondent no. 2 to 11 were concerned. We may note that the date of occurrence of the present case is 21.3.1984. The judgment of acquittal was delivered on 10.4.1989. At the time of judgment the appellant was aged about 42 years. We are taking up the Government Appeal for hearing after 27 years of the incident of occurrence and after 22 years of judgment of acquittal.

(3.) The prosecution case in brief is that on the 21 st of March, 1984 at 7 a.m. the informant Puneshwar Jha alongwith his deceased brother Kusheshwar Jha had gone to the northern Bhind of Ratnakar tank for the purposes of getting the standing wheat crop harvested and for filling the field with earth. His brother Kusheshwar Jha was sitting on the ridge of his field and supervising the works which were being done. The informant went to defecate and after easing himself he was washing his hands and mouth in the tank at 7.30 a.m. In the meantime, the accused persons namely Baidya Nath Jha, son of Madhab Jha, Ghuran Jha, Kailu Jha, Surya Naarain Pathak, Ram Chandra Jha, Sitaram Jha, Gopalji Jha, Bachey Pathak, Bhola Thakur, Digember Thakur and Baidya Nath Jha, son of Sahdeo Jha came near his brother Kusheshwar Jha and asked him as to why he was getting the wheat crop harvested and earth cut. Whereupon, the deceased replied that he was the owner of the field and, thus, he was getting the wheat crop harvested and earth field up. Being infuriated upon the reply, accused Ghuran Jha and Baidya Nath Jha, son of Sahdeo Jha commanded the other accused persons to kill Kusheshwar Jha. On such exhortion, accused Baidya Nath Jha, son of Madhab Jha (respondent no. 1) took out a knife from his waist and struck the deceased Kusheshwar Jha from behind his neck. The deceased fell down. Thereafter, two knife blows were given on his chest, one knife blow on his left knee and one blow on his right hand were also given. The deceased succumbed the injuries on the spot.