PRAMOD RAI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants have preferred this appeal under Sec. 374(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure against the judgment of conviction dtd. 29/5/2015 and the order of sentence dtd. 9/6/2015 passed by the learned 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Sitamarhi in Sessions Trial No. 377 of 2007/518/13 arising out of Sonbarsa P.S. Case No. 56 of 1994, whereby and whereunder the appellants have been convicted and sentenced as under :-

(2.) The fardbeyan of the informant Sitaram Rai (P.W. 6) led to registration of the concerned Sonbarsa, P.S. Case No. 56 of 1994 for commission of the offences punishable under Ss. 147, 148, 149 324, 307 of the IPC, Sec. 27 of the Arms Act and Ss. 3/4 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908. As the victim died, sec 302 of the IPC was subsequently incorporated in the FIR under the Courts Order. The prosecution's case as disclosed in the fardbeyan of the informant recorded at about 11:35 am before the Officer-in-charge of the police station is to the effect that in the morning of 2/7/1994, the informant and his son were uprooting seeds for sowing millet. In the nearby land belonging to them, paddy seeds were sown. In the meanwhile, accused Ram Chandra Rai was seen taking his cattle through the middle of their paddy field which was objected to by his son Nagendra Rai (the deceased). He alleged in his fardbeyan that thereafter, the accused Ramchandra Rai abused him and entered into some altercation. Subsequently, at about 11:00 am when the deceased went to his house for bringing food for the labourers and was coming back with the food, the moment he reached near a tree on the road, accused Ramchandra Rai opened fire with his pistol causing fire-arm injury to the deceased sustained his right elbow. Thereafter, Pramod Rai (appellant in Criminal Appeal (DB) No. 628 of 2015) hurled a bomb causing injuries in the stomach of the deceased. Ramchandra Rai, again fired a shot with his pistol. Other accused persons namely, Gajendra Rai, Raj Kishore Rai, Chandeshwar Rai (Appellant no. 1 in Cr. App. No. 648 of 2015 and Umesh Rai (Appellant no. 2 in Criminal Appeal (DB) No. 648 of 2015) were standing there and when Ram Dayal Rai (a cousin of the deceased) attempted to save the deceased; on being exhorted by co-accused Gajendra Rai, Umesh Rai hurled a bomb on him. He, however, managed to escape. The genesis of occurrence, the informant disclosed in his fardbeyan, as some dispute between the parties over drainage of water for which a panchayati was also held nearly 10 days ago. It is also the prosecutions case that fardbeyan of the deceased Nagendra Prasad Yadav was recorded on 2/7/1994 at about 11:55 PM by one J.K. Singh an Officer of Sonbarsa police station, in Sonbarsa hospital wherein he had stated that Ramchandra Rai had shot at him with an intention to kill him which shot had hit his right hand and when he attempted to escape, the appellant Pramod Rai shot at him with pistol hitting in his stomach. After he raised hulla, his father and his neighbour Jai Narayan Rai (hostile) and Kailash Rai (hostile) came and took him to the hospital. We notice at this juncture itself, which is evident from the evidence of the witnesses that the deceased died on 2/7/1994, according to the prosecutions case, while being taken to the Muzaffarpur hospital from Sitamarhi hospital.

(3.) The police upon completion of investigation initially submitted chargesheet against Gajendra Rai, keeping the investigation pending against rest of the accused persons named in the FIR. The chargesheet was subsequently submitted against four persons namely, Raj Kishore Rai, Umesh Rai, Chandeshwar Rai and Pramod Rai. Co-accused, Raj Kishore Rai died before submission of second chargesheet. The chargesheets were submitted for commission of the offences punishable under Ss. 147, 148, 149, 323, 307 and 302 of the IPC, Sec. 27 of the Arms Act and Ss. 3/4 of the Explosive Substances Act, against these appellants and the accused Ramchandra Rai.