SANTOSH LALL Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellant has been convicted under Section 307 IPC and sentenced to RI for five years by judgment dated 20.12.1993 passed by Sessions Judge, Gaya in S.Tr. No. 558 of 1986. THE case of the prosecution is that on 31.01.1986 at 8.30 P.M. when the informant was going to the house of Mani Lal Mishra he saw two persons standing, out of whom he identified the appellant as one of them. THE further allegation is that the informant was variously assaulted by the two persons including the appellant on account of which he was rushed to the hospital and the Doctor found as many as twelve injuries on his person. THE Doctor deposed as P.W. 8 and supported that indeed the informant had sustained various injuries some of which were grievous in nature. P.W. 5 who is the informant of the case deposed that he had been variously assaulted by the appellant as well the other accused on account of previous land dispute. This fact was supported by P.W. 4 as an eye-witness and P.W. 1 is hearsay witness.

(2.) IT has been submitted that in the facts of the case no offence under Section 307 IPC would be made out since despite there being no intervening circumstance the informant was saved his life and from the injury report it appears that most of the injuries were simple in nature. The further submission is that the Investigating Officer had not been examined and, therefore, the prosecution case should be discarded since there is no objective material which was essential in the background of several civil litigations. I am inclined to accept the proposition that in the facts of the case no offence under Section 307 IPC is made out but in my view a clear case under Section 326 IPC would be made out. Considering that the appellant has remained in custody for a sufficiently long period the conviction under Section 307 IPC can be converted into Section 326 IPC and he is sentenced to the period already undergone by him. However, the appellant is directed to pay a fine of Rs. 2500/- to be paid to the injured/family within a period of eight weeks from the date of receipt of notice from the Trial Court failing which the appellant shall be sentenced to six months RI. With these observations, the appeal is dismissed with modification as aforesaid.