MD. WASIQUR RAHMAN @ WASIQUE Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE three appellants were charged with committing offence under Section 364 of the Indian Penal Code by an order passed on 15.04.1999 by the learned 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, Araria, in Sessions Trial No. 179 of 1998 and by judgment dated 06.08.2002, passed by the learned Presiding Officer, Fast Track Court -I, Araria, they were held guilty of committing the said offence. The appellants were heard on sentence and each of them was directed to suffer rigorous imprisonment for ten years. The judgment of conviction and the order of sentence passed on the appellants is being challenged in the present two appeals one preferred by solitary appellant Md. Wasiqur Rahman @ Wasique and the other by the remaining two, namely, Md. Hassan and Md. Sahid.

(2.) THE prosecution case emanated from Ext. 1, the Fardbeyan of Most. Tara Devi, the mother of victim/deceased Vidyanand Singh, which was recorded on 08.02.1997, 5.30 P.M. in which she stated that on 27.01.1997, appellants Md. Hassan and Md. Sahid came to her house and asked the deceased Vidyanand Singh that a Panchayati had been convened in the garage of appellant Md. Wasiqur Rahman @ Wasique and he was required to attend it. The deceased Vidyanand Singh readily left his house to accompany the two appellants and he did not come back in spite of the two appellants Md. Hassan and Md. Sahid had come back. The mother of the deceased stated that she searched her son and also met persons to gather information as to the whereabouts of her son and in that connection she had met P.W. 2, Vidya Nand Singh who stated to her that he had seen her son at Rampur Chowk which was also stated to the mother of the deceased by P.W. 4, Amirchand Bahardar. In course of the search for her son, the informant was also told that he had been seen purchasing fish from P.W. 3, Prem Lal Bahardar and accordingly, she met P.W. 3 also who confirmed the fact that her son along with the two appellants, Md. Hassan and Md. Sahid, had purchased fish from him and during that course the deceased had stated to him that he was going to participate in a Panchayati which had been convened in the garage of appellant Wasiqur Rahman @ Wasique. The lady -informant stated that that was the last occasion the deceased had been seen alive and, thereafter, he disappeared and none of the two appellants Md. Hassan or Md. Sahid or even Md. Wasiqur Rahman @ Wasique could account for either the disappearance or any other incident which could have occurred with the deceased Vidyanand Singh. The lady suspected that her son had been murdered by the three appellants in connivance with each other.

(3.) THE defence of the appellants was of complete innocence and also of false implication. It was suggested by the appellants, as appears from paragraph 4 of the impugned judgment that the deceased was a veteran criminal who had also been convicted of offences under Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act as also of offence under section 395 of the Indian Penal Code which conviction had been upheld by this Court in appeal. It was suggested that the veteran criminal that he was, he was wanted in many cases, and he was absconding and was evading the process of law. Suggestion was that on account of his criminal antecedent, the deceased could have earned many enemies and he could have been made prey to an act of revenge or settling scores by any of his criminal enemies.