RANBIR SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THOUGH Petitioner along with one Baleshwar Singh was prosecuted on accusation of seizure of arms and ammunitions from their houses the trial commenced only against the Petitioner who suffered conviction under Section 25(a) of the Arms Act and was sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a term of three years.

(2.) THE factual matrix are that on 24th January, 1988, Sri A.N. Das, Sub -lnspector of Police (P.W. 11) on receipt of confj dential information about concealment of booty of Sahebpur Kamal P.S. Case No. 96 of 1987, in the house of Uchit Narayan Singh of village Parora, made station diary entry, proceeded, took assistance of police of Balia Police Station and led a trap in the house in question, when in presence of two witnesses and also the police officials, from northern room of the house, there had been seizure of a country made rifle and two live cartridges from a place kept below the cot on which the Petitioner was found sleeping. Since Petitioner had no valid authority for arms and ammunitions, there has been prosecution. After the police was set in motion, investigation commenced, on conclusion of which, the police laid chargesheet before the court. In the eventual trial that commenced, the State examined altogether 11 witnesses including the police officials, Sergeant major and also two seizure list witnesses.

(3.) BEFORE contentions raised on be -half of the Petitioner are bestowed due consideration, I wish to state with brevity, testimony of witnesses which have been Broadly spelt out in the judgments of the court below. Though Randhir Kumar Singh (P.W. 1) and Baikunth Singh (P.W.2) who were projected as seizure -list witnesses and had turned volte face to the State, it was rightly noticed by the appellate court that during their corss -examination, they also stood witnesses of the alleged sei - ture and search. P.W. 4, Arbind Kumar Happens to be a constable who participated in raid, testified to recovery of arms and ammunitions. Krishna Singh P.W. 7 was one of the members of raiding party who stated about seizure of offending articles from possession of the Petitioner which was found kept below the cot on which he was sleeping. Narrations almost in slmilar vain and terms were made also by Sri R.P. Yadav P.W. 8, Rabindra Prasad Singh P.W. 9, Sri N.K. Rajak P. W. 10 and Sri A.N. Das P.W. 11. The State had placed on the record also the finding of the Sergeant Major P.W. 3 who stated to have found arms and ammunitions effective.