RADHA SINGH AND ORS Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) NINE accused persons were put on trial by the learned 3rd Additional Sessions Judge, Bhagalpur, out of whom accused Surendra Singh and Bijoy Singh were charged distinctly for committing an offence under Section under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code by intentionally and knowingly committing the murder of Rajnath Kunwar who happened to be the brother of the informant (P.W.6). The remaining seven accused persons were charged together under Section 302 read with 149 of the Indian Penal Code and out of them accused Radha Singh , Baldeo Singh, Ramdas Singh and Mahesh Singh had been charged together under Section 147 of the Indian Penal Code. Appellants Byas Singh, Siyanand Singh, Suresh Singh and Bijoy Singh had been charged jointly for committing for an offence under Section 148 of the Indian Penal Code. The judgment was delivered by the learnd 7th Additional Sessions Judge, Bhagalpur in Sessions Trial No. 184 of 1983 on 09.10.1991. Two accused Surendra Singh and Bijoy Singh who had been distinctly charged under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code were convicted of that offence and after being heard on sentence on 10.10.1991, each of them was directed to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life. The seven other accused persons who were charged distinctly under Sections 302/149 of the Indian Penal Code were also held guilty of committing offence in prosecution of the common object of an unlawful assembly on account of being the members of that particular assembly and further on account of being in know of the fact that the murder of Rajnath Kuer was likely to be committed and after being heard on sentence each of them were directed to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life. Accused Baldeo Singh was convicted of an offence under Section 147 of the Indian Penal Code and was directed to suffer rigorous imprisonment for two years while the four appellants, namely, Byas Singh, Siyanand Singh, Surendra Singh and Bijoy Singh who had been charged together under Section 148 of the Indian Penal Code, after being convicted of that particular offence, were each directed to suffer rigorous imprisonment for three years each on that count. Seven out of nine convicts filed Cr. Appeal (DB) No. 470 of 1991while two, namely, Bijoy Singh and Surendra Singh preferred Cr. Appeal (DB) No. 477 of 1991 to question the findings recorded by the learned trial Judge through the impugned judgment.

(2.) DURING pendency of the present appeals, appellant no. 1 Radha Singh, appellant no. 3 Ramdas Singh, appellant no. 4 Mahesh Singh and appellant no. 5 Siyanand Singh died and Cr. Appeal (DB) No. 470 of 1991 as on their behalf stood abated. Out of the two appellants of Cr. Appeal (DB) No. 477 of 1991, Surendra Singh also died and the appeal as on his behalf also stood abated. Thus, the array of surviving appellants in the two appeals which was originally nine was reduced to four only.

(3.) WE have heard the two appeals together and are disposing them of by this common judgment.