CHULHAN CHAUHAN; KAILASH CHAUHAN Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appeals are directed against the judgment dated 23.6.1992 passed by the VIth Additional Sessions Judge, Munger, passed in Session Trial No. 157 of 1983 whereby each of the four appellants has been convicted under Section 307 read with 149 of the Indian Penal Code and has been sentenced to undergo R.I. for ten years. The First Information Report of the case was lodged on the statement of the injured informant Ganpat Chauhan on 23.3.1982 at about 7.45 a.m. at Ariari P.S. where the informant had come in injured condition. As per column two of the First Information Report the P.S. situated at a distance of 15 kilometers from the P.O. village Masourha. The informant stated in the First Information Report that that day (13.3.1982) at about 4.30 a.m. while he was returning after attending the call of nature the appellants along with 3-4 unknown stopped him. Appellant Kailash Chauhan carried chhura and bomb, Dashrath Chauhan had a pasuli, Chulahan Chauhan carried a gadasa and Kishun Chauhan was holding a lathi and the other unknown criminals were also armed with bhala and bomb. Kailash Chauhan assaulted him (informant) by a bomb and then he also started sliting his neck and that the other accused persons also assaulted him with a weapon as a result of which he (informant) received various injuries. He raised hulla whereupon his brother Jagdish Chauhan PW 3 Kameshwar Paswan PW 1 and Puran Yadav PW 2 came there and saved him. The informant alleged that land dispute was going on with the appellants since last three years and it was due to the land dispute that the appellants and others had assaulted him. On the statement of the informant First Information Report was registered and on completion of investigation charge-sheet was submitted and the appellants were put on trial and they were convicted and sentenced as above.

(2.) As many as ten witnesses have been examined by the prosecution. PW 7 Ganpati Chauhan is the informant himself. PW 1 Kameshwar Paswan, PW Puran Yadav and PW 3 Jagdish Chauhan have been examined as eye-witness to the occurrence. PW 5 Kailash Prasad Rajak is not an eye-witness and he deposed that he had come to the place of occurrence after the occurrence and that the informant had disclosed before him that the appellants had assaulted him. PW 4 Kishun Chauhan and PW 6 Basudeo Chauhan have been tendered by the prosecution and these two witnesses do not say anything about the occurrence. P.A. 8 (A) Kuldeep Prasad Yadav is a formal witness who has proved the writings on the First Information Report marked Ext-4. PW 9 is also a formal witness who has proved the sanction order marked Ext-5 for the prosecution of the appellants for offence under the Explosive Substance Act. It has to be mentioned here that the appellant Kailash Chauhan was also charged under Section 3/5 of the Explosive Substances Act but he was acquitted of this charge by the trial Court. PW 8 Dr. Kumar Nityanand Singh is the doctor who had examined the injuries on the informant. PW 10 Arun Kumar Tiwary is the I.O, of this case. The informant Ganpat Chauhan (PW 7) deposed that in the morning at about 4 a.m. while he was returning after attending the call of nature and when he reached near his onion field he saw an armed mob consisted by the appellants and four others unknown. Appellant Kailash Chauhan carried a jhola and a dagger, Dashrath Chauhan had a dagger and hasuli which is used for tapping of palm tree. Kishun Chauhan had a bhala and Chulahan Chauhan carried gadasa. He further deposed that Kailash Chauhan exploded three bomb and that he was hit by two of the bombs and after being hit by bomb he fell down in his onion field then Kailash Chauhan started slitting the neck with a dagger and Dasrath Chauhan also begin cutting his neck and Chulhah Chauhan also assaulted him with his weapon. He received various injuries. He deposed the name of PWs 1, 2 and 3 as a witnesses who had been occurrence. He further deposed that after committing the assault and on arrival of the witnesses the appellants fled away. Then he deposed that he was brought on a Tamtam to the police station where he gave his statement which was recorded by the police officer there and after recording, the same was read over and explained to him and then finding it correct he had put his signature on the statement. He further deposed that the police of the police station sent him to Ariyari hospital for treatment. At para 9 of his cross-examination he has said that when he fell down after receiving bomb injury the appellants and others had surrounded him and then they had committed assault on him. Thus the informant says about the assault having been made on him as he stated in his First Information Report.

(3.) PW 1 Kameshwar Paswan who claims to be an eye-witness has deposed that on hearing sound of bomb explosion, he ran to the place of occurrence and then he saw the occurrence. This witness has deposed about the occurrence on similar lines as deposed by the informant. In his cross-examination in para 3 he deposed that he had seen the informant for the first time when he (informant) was grappling with the accused persons and in course of grappling appellant Kailash Chauhan had thrown a bomb.