SIKANDAR PRASAD Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS Cr. Appeal has been filed against the judgment of conviction dated 30-05-2001 and sentence order dated 01-06-2001 passed by IIIrd Additional Sessions Judge, West Champaran, Bettiah in Sessions Trial No. 318 of 1995 by which and whereunder, he convicted the appellants for the offence punishable under Section-307 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of four years and also imposed a fine of Rs 1,000.00 each and in default of payment of fine , the appellants were further sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of one year.

(2.) IN brief, prosecution case is that P.W. 4, Umesh Dubey gave his fardbeyan to S.I. Sri S. R. Sharma of Town Police Station on 19-02- 1995 at 8.45 p.m. in M.J.K. hospital in injured condition that on the same day, at about 3.00 p.m., P.W. 1 Yogendra Raut informed him that Sikandar Prasad, Ajay Prasad, Arvind Prasad, Baijnath Mahto were damaging his wheat crop in his field and having got the aforesaid information, he proceeded towards his field and reached there. He noticed that the aforesaid persons were uprooting the crop from his field upon which, he forbade them to do so, but Sikandar Prasad ordered the others to catch him and having heard the aforesaid order, he started fleeing from there but he was chased by the aforesaid persons and the aforesaid persons succeeded to catch him near the house of Sheo Paswan and after having caught him, Sikandar Prasad hurled Farsa, which hit on his head as a result of which, he fell down on the earth and after that, rest persons being armed with Farsa and Sword started assaulting him, as a result of which, he sustained injury on his head, left armpit, both legs and both hands and the blood started oozing out. His cousin brother namely, Bandhu Dubey (P.W. 7) came to his rescue but Ajay Prasad gave one Farsa blow on his head and having sustained injury, he, too, fell down on the earth. In the meantime, having heard the noise, Munna Shukla, Yogendra Pandit, Janak Raut and several other persons came there running and brought him as well as injured, Bandhu Dubey to hospital for treatment. The reason behind the alleged occurrence, as stated by P.W. 4 in his fardbeyan, is that Ajay Prasad had kidnapped one, Sunita Kumari for illegal purpose and for the aforesaid kidnapping; Nautan P.S. Case No. 06 of 1994 was lodged against Ajay Prasad and others. The aforesaid Ajay Prasad was released on bail in the aforesaid case but after being released from jail, he started giving threatening to the informant of that case and others and for which, a petition for cancellation of his bail was filed in the court of Sessions Judge, Bettiah and in the aforesaid cancellation petition, P.W. 4 used to make pairvi on behalf of the father of aforesaid Sunita Kumari and due to the aforesaid enmity, the above-said persons, having common intention, assaulted him with sword and Farsa. On the basis of aforesaid fardbeyan, Nautan P.S. Case No. 13 of 1995 under Sections-341, 323, 324, 427, 307/34 of the Indian Penal Code was registered and formal FIR was drawn against the appellants for the above- stated offences.

(3.) ALL the above-said appellants stood trial and accordingly, they were charged for the offence punishable under Section-307 of the Indian Penal Code. All the appellants denied the charge and claimed to be tried.