PUJAN KOIRI Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner No. 1, Sheopujan Koiri, has been convicted under Sections 326 and 324, Penal Code, and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year and to pay a fine of Rs. 100.00, or, in default, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a further period of three months under Section 326, Penal Code, and to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months under Section 324, Penal Code, the substantive sentences of imprisonment to run concurrently. Petitioner No. 2, Sukhu Koiri, has been convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months under Section 324, Penal Code. Petitioners 3 and 4, Dasain Koiri and Dulesar Koiri, have been convicted under Section 323, Penal Code, and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three months each. Petitioner No. 5, Rupu Koiri, has been convicted under Sections 457 and 354, Penal Code, and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year under each of the sections, the sentences to run concurrently.

(2.) According to the case of the prosecution in the night between the 4th and 5th of September, 1951, a little before dawn, the complainant Musammat Bhagwatia was sleeping in her house when she woke up and found the petitioner Rupu Koiri sitting on her Bed. On being challenged Rupu asked her to keep silence and made advances towards her. Musammat Bhagwatia gave him a push and raised an alarm in response to which Jaimangal (P. W. 3), Ganesh (P. W. 4) and Tapesar (P. W. 6) came to the lane near the entrance of her door. Rupu attempted to move away, but Musammat Bhagwatia caught hold of him by holding his dhoti and the door was opened. Rupu was secured by the aforesaid three witnesses. In the meantime the other four petitioners arrived at the spot and began assaulting the three witnesses. Ganesh managed to run away after he was assaulted, Tapesar fell down unconscious and Jaimangal was caught hold of by the accused persons and 10 to 15 other persons who happened to come to the house of Sheopujan where he was wrongfully confined,

(3.) The defence of the accused persons was that they were innocent and were falsely implicated in the case out of enmity. Musammat Bhagwatia was a woman of bad character & was in love with Nanku and on the alleged date of occurrence she having been detected to be with her lover in her house, falsely implicated Rupu Koiri, as being a person who entered her house, in order to save her lover Nanku.