RAM KUMAR SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE solitary appellant Ram Kumar Singh has preferred the present appeal to challenge the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 08.10.1991, passed in S.T. No. 120 of 1989, by which he was held guilty of committing offences under Sections 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 27 of the Arms Act. After hearing the appellant on sentence under Section 235 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the learned 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, Bhojpur at Arrah directed the appellant to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life on each of the two counts, i.e., under Sections 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code and rigorous imprisonment for seven years due to found guilty of committing the offence under Section 27 of the Arms Act. While the appellant was convicted and sentenced as noted herein, the other accused persons, namely, Krishan Kumar Singh, who happened to be the brother of the present appellant, was acquitted of the charges under Sections 302/34 and 307/34 of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) THE prosecution case, as per the First Information Report (Ext. 2), lodged by P.W. 2 Budheshwar Singh was that his son Ramchandra Singh, who was a practicing advocate of this Court, as appears undisputed from evidence, was coming back home after having attended to the call of nature at about 6 a.m. on 03.04.1988. He found that some children were picking up Mahua flowers under the Mahua tree which was situated, as per his claim, on his land. Ramchandra Singh objected to the picking up of the Mahua flowers upon which the children raising hue and cry went towards their house speaking out that Ramchandra Singh had assaulted them.

(3.) AS may appear from the evidence of P.W. 9 Syed Zulfiullah, who was posted as Assistant Sub -Inspector of Police in Agiaon police station in the district of Bhojpur at Arrah on 03.04.1988, i.e., the date of occurrence that after institution of the case on the statement of P.W. 2, he took up the investigation himself and recorded the statements of Uma Shankar Singh marked Ext. 7 and that of Paras Nath Singh marked Ext. 7/1. P.W. 9 A.S.I. Syed Zulfiullah, thereafter, held inquest upon the dead body of deceased Ramchandra Singh and prepared the inquest report in presence of witnesses. The inquest report of Ramchandra Singh was marked Ext. 3. It appears from the evidence of P.W. 9 that the present appellant with other accused persons had appeared at the police station with his rifle, used in the commission of the offence with 26 rounds of cartridges and also prepared the injury reports of injured Uma Shankar Singh and Paras Nath Singh and sent the two injured to Sadar Hospital, Arrah for treatment. He, at the same time, dispatched the dead body of Ramchandra Singh with Constable Sheojee Singh and Choukidar Ramjee Singh for postmortem examination.