HARIHAR SINGH Vs. THE STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) INFORMANT is the appellant herein. He has filed this appeal assailing the judgment/order dated 12.02.1993, passed by 2nd Additional District and Sessions Judge, Munger, in Sessions Trial No. 129 of 1992 whereunder he has been convicted under Section 302 of the Penal Code for committing murder of his mother Radha Devi and brother Ranjeet Prasad Singh in his house in the night of 19.10.1991 and sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life.

(2.) PROSECUTION case, as set out in the fardbeyan of the informant recorded by S.I. B.N. Pandey, Officer -in -Charge Harpur Police Station on 20.10.1991 at 8.15 A.M. in village Kaliee, is that in the previous night after taking dinner informant, his brother Ranjeet Prasad Singh spoke to their mother Radha Devi and as per her instruction informant went inside the room to sleep, mother and brother of informant slept on a cot in the northern side of verandah facing south. All of a sudden informant woke up between 10.30 -10.45 P.M. hearing rumbling/knocking sound coming from the court -yard, opened the door of his room slowly to see 10 -12 armed men standing in the court -yard looking towards the door. The armed men wanted to kill the informant but he swiftly closed the door and raised alarm calling his neighbour Dhananjay Singh @ Baudu Singh, S/o Deoki Singh, whose house is situate behind his house. Dhananjay, who responded once but became silent thereafter. Informant thereafter called Sudama Singh, who climbed over his roof and wanted to say something. It is further stated in the fardbeyan that when informant was raising alarm miscreants were standing in the court -yard/verandah and stated that they have killed his mother, brother and now it is informant's turn. The miscreants were also abusing others. In the moon light and by voice informant identified co -villagers Ratneshwar Singh S/o Kamta Prasad Singh, Jagdish Prasad Singh S/o Singheshwar Prasad Singh, Jai Prakash Rai S/o Govind Rai, Ambika Sharma S/o Chaturi Sharma, Bhikhari Paswan S/o Borhan Paswan, Jai Prakash Singh @ Bhushan S/o Brahmdeo Singh and Pahalwan Singh @ Onkar Singh S/o Jagdish Singh amongst the miscreants armed with pistol, gun, bhujali, farsa etc. Informant further stated in the fardbeyan that he is not on inimical terms with any of the villagers except Ambika Sharma, S/o Chaturi Sharma with whom he has land dispute from last Sawan and a proceeding under Section 107 Cr.P.C. is pending in the court of Sub -Divisional Magistrate. One week prior to the occurrence co -villagers of the informant Ratneshwar Singh, Jagdish Singh, Chotelal Singh and Jai Prakash Singh came to his house, asked him not to quarrel with Ambika Sharma and they would ensure that the price of land is paid to him for which informant agreed. It is further stated in the fardbeyan that the aforesaid co -villagers before leaving the house of the informant threatened him that if he did not accept the price of the land he may be in trouble. Informant further stated that the aforesaid miscreants did not ensure payment of land price to him even after passage of Dashahra festival and killed his mother, brother in the previous night. It is further stated in the fardbeyan that on account of fear of the accused persons none of the villagers came to his house to enquire about the occurrence. After departure of the miscreants informant came out of his room, saw his brother Ranjeet Prasad Singh dead and mother making rumbling sound from her vocal -cord. Informant enquired from his mother about the identity of the assailants by furnishing the name of the aforesaid accused persons, on which his mother shook her head and succumbed to the injuries. Informant also claimed in the fardbeyan that the aforesaid accused persons named in the fardbeyan are the assailants of his mother, brother. S.I. B.N. Pandey, Officer -in -Charge, Harpur Police Station having scribed the fardbeyan prepared inquest report of the two deceased on the same day at 8.45, 9.00 A.M. vide Exhibits -4, 4/1 respectively and handed over the two dead bodies to M/s. Banarsi Paswan and Mahendra Paswan (P.Ws. 4, 5) for taking the dead bodies to Munger Sadar Hospital for post mortem. After dispatch of the dead bodies Investigating Officer proceeded to inspect the place of occurrence house and made seizure of the incriminating articles, namely, blood stained old cotton sheet, quilt, blood soaked soil, gul container with blood stains from the house of the informant vide seizure -list dated 20.10.1990 prepared at 11.00 A.M. (Exhibit -6). After completing preliminary investigation at the place of occurrence Investigating Officer, the scribe of the fardbeyan, returned to the police station and registered First Information Report of Harpur P.S. Case No. 21 dated 20.10.1991 under Sections 302/120 -B/34 of the Penal Code stating that he has already taken up investigation of the case. The formal First Information Report was dispatched to the court on 20.10.1991, which was perused by the Chief Judicial Magistrate on 21.10.1991. Distance between the place of occurrence and the dead house being 70 kilometers the two dead bodies were received in the dead house on 21.10.1991 at 9.30 A.M. and post mortem conducted on the same day at 10.00, 10.30 A.M. respectively. From the post mortem report, it appears that both mother and the son were done to death by inflicting injuries from sharp cutting weapon and time elapsed since death being 36 -48 hours. During investigation Investigating Officer recorded the statement of the neighbours of the informant named in the fardbeyan whom he called while raising alarm as also of others, concluded that the two murders were committed by none -else other than the informant himself and submitted charge -sheet against him exonerating those named in the fardbeyan. In the light of the charge -sheet cognizance was taken and informant was summoned to face trial. After supply of police papers to the accused person case was committed to the Court of Sessions. Sessions Court framed charge against the informant under order dated 19.05.1992 to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried.

(3.) LEARNED counsel for the appellant submitted that none of the prosecution witnesses, namely, P.Ws. 1, 3 the two neighbours whom informant called while raising alarm in the night of occurrence or any other co -villager/neighbour examined during trial has supported the prosecution story, as found true during investigation that it was the informant who committed the twin murders of his mother, brother in the court -yard of his house during the night of 19.10.1991, has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt as the witnesses examined have neither seen the informant committing the twin murder nor there is any material to connect him with the incriminating articles seized from his court -yard in the morning of occurrence i.e. blood stained cotton sheet, quilt, blood soaked earth vide seizure -list (Exhibit -6). There is no material at all collected during investigation and proved during trial on the basis of which informant can be held to be responsible for the twin murders of his mother, brother. It is further submitted that it is the duty of the prosecution to prove the charge beyond all reasonable doubt, but in the instant case, prosecution witnesses including the Investigating Officer of the case have miserably failed to discharge the onus of proving the guilt of the informant beyond all reasonable doubt. In support of the aforesaid contention, learned counsel for the appellant has placed reliance on the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Shambhu Nath Mehra v. The State of Ajmer : AIR 1956 Supreme Court 404, Mohd. Usman v. The State of Bihar : AIR 1968 Supreme Court 1273, Sawal Das v. State of Bihar : AIR 1974 Supreme Court 778 Paragraphs 9, 10, State of W.B. v. Mir Mohammad Omar and others : (2000) 8 Supreme Court Cases 382, Paragraphs 37, 39, Murlidhar & Ors. v. State of Rajasthan : 2005(3) PLJR 161 (SC) Paragraphs 21, 22 and P. Mani v. State of Tamil Nadu : 2006(2) PLJR 213 (SC).