SHARVAN RAM Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The two appellants before this Court stand convicted under S. 396 of the Penal Code and Appellant No.1 Shrawan Ram was named in the F. I. R. itself. Appellant No. 2 Rajdeo Ram was named by the inmates of the second of the two houses where dacoity was committed in their statements recorded under S. 161 of (he Code of Criminal Procedure. The police seems to have submitted chargesheet against them apparently without much effort to find out the other culprits. Both the two appellants were, therefore, put on trial and were convicted and sentenced as noted above.

(2.) The prosecution case was instituted on the basis of the statement of Sonamati Devi (P. W. 3) made before a Sub-Inspector of Police attached to Bijaipur P. S. at the Referral Hospital, Bhore on 5-12-1988 at 3 in the morning. The statement was taken down in the form of fardbeyan (Ext. 2) which was incorporated in the formal F. I. R (Ext. 1) drawn up later on the same day at 7.15 in the morning.

(3.) Sonamati Devi stated that after having her meal earlier in the night (of 4-12-1998) she was sleeping in her house. She added that there was no door at the main entrance to the house. At about 11 in the night she was woken up by the sound of a box being dragged. She saw that one of her co-villagers, Shrawan Ram (Appellant No. 1), carrying a lathi in his hand, was carrying away her box. A lantern was burning in the house. She raised the alarm, 'chor-chor' and caught hold of Shrawan Ram on which he hit her with the lathi, causing injury to her. She further said that another person (Chor) was standing in the Angan whom she was unable to identify. Two other culprits were standing inside the room of her husband. They were admonishing him to keep lying down. She alleged that two boxes were carried away from her house that contained clothes of daily use and a silver payal. She added that dacoity was also committed in the house of her Pattidar Ram Kalap Rai (P.W. 4) about which he would give further details. She then tried to describe the dress of the culprits and the language in which they talked among themselves. In the end she added that on her hulla her Dewar Pawan Rai came running to the place of occurrence but the dacotts hit him with a bomb causing grave injuries to him. She also said that she was unable to give the number of dacoits. That after committing dacoity the culprits fled away towards the west. In conclusion she gave the names of a number of persons who came and witnessed the occurrence. Her statement was read out and on finding it correctly recorded, she put her signature on it.