KAPIL GOPE Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellants of the two appeals have been convicted u/ss.324/149 I.P.C. and sentenced to R.I. for three years. Further the appellant no.4 Mosafir Gope and appellant no.5 Nawal Gope of Criminal Appeal No.278 of 1997 have been convicted u/s.27 of the Arms Act and sentenced to R.I. for four years by the 5th Additional Sessions Judge, Nalanda in Sessions Trial No.444 of 1992 by a judgment dated 25.9.1997.

(2.) THE case of the prosecution according to the informant Ram Briksha Gope is that on 31.10.1991 while he, his brother Dineshwar Gope and nephews Dayanand Gope and Pramhans Gope were cleaning drain near a well, the appellants objected to the same. When the informant and others furnished an explanation that the drain was common, some bricks were thrown and shots were fired from the roof of dalan of appellant Mosafir Gope but it did not hit anyone. A little later the accused persons variously armed came and Awadh Gope (appellant no.3) and Mosafir Gope (appellant no.4) are said to have ordered to kill, upon which accused Rabindra Gope (since acquitted) fired causing pellet injuries to the informant and appellant no.5 (Nawal Gope) fired causing injuries to one Dineshwar. Ram Sanehi is said to have proceeded to cut the neck of Dineshwar on the orders of appellant no.3 (Awadh Gope) but the witnesses arrived and, therefore, no further harm could be done.

(3.) ON behalf of the defence three witnesses were examined, out of whom D.W.1 Ramprit Singh Yadav deposed that a Panchayati for resolution of the dispute with regard to the drain had taken place on 19.6.1988 and thereafter there was no dispute from the side of the accused persons. D.W.2 Kailash Yadav deposed that in fact on the date and time of occurrence the informant and his men were demolishing the wall of the house of the accused Awadh Gope and Nagina Gope and had set fire to his house, where after there was firing from both the side and the injured had sustained injuries in such firing. There was no dispute over the well after Panchayati. D.W.3 also deposed that it was Dineshwar Gope, who had opened fire in the transaction which had hit the accused persons.