STATE OF BIHAR Vs. PARAMHANS YADAV

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appeals and the Death Reference have been heard together and will be governed by this common judgment.

(2.) This is rather an unfortunate case in which the District Magistrate, who is the head of the District administration, was killed in his own office by a Bomb. Two appeals have been preferred by Paramhans Yadav; Criminal Appeal No. 676 of 1984 from Jail and Criminal Appeal No. 647 of 1984 through counsel in this Court. Criminal Appeal No. 627 of 1984 has been filed by another appellant, Sadanand Tripathi @ Sant Gayaneshwar. Both of them have been convicted Under Sec. 302 read with Sec. 120 -B of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as the Code) and have been sentenced to death. Paramhans Yadav has further been convicted Under Sec. 302 of the Code and sentenced to death. He has also been convicted Under Sec. 3 of the Explosive Substance Act and sentenced to ten years' rigorous imprisonment. They have been ordered to be hanged by their necks till they are dead. It may also be mentioned that two persons were also put on trial, namely, Sadique Sain and Sairuddin Sain but they have been acquitted by the trial Court. For the sake of brevity Paramhans Yadav will be mentioned hereinafter as Yadav and Sadanand Tripathi as Tripathi.

(3.) The prosecution story, in brief, was that on 11th of April, 1983, the Courts were held in the morning and the Collector of Gopalganj, late Sri Maheshwar Prasad Narain Sharma had finished his work in his office. His brother, Paresh Prasad Singh, PW 62, was also sitting in his Chamber. The deceased Collector along with his brother left his office which is on the upper floor of Gopalganj Collectorate and he was coming down to go to his residence and his Car was parked in the portico. The late Collector was descending the stair case followed by his Orderly, Hari Shanker Ram, PW 19, and appellant Yadav was also descending after him. PW 62, brother of the deceased, who was also coming down, was just behind appellant Yadav. The deceased Collector came on the landing ground and after that he came down two or three steps and suddenly appellant Yadav, who had a Jhola in his hand, took out a bomb and threw it on the Collector which hit him and the bomb exploded with loud noise, with the result that the Collector fell rolling on the ground floor and part of his body was blown off. It is stated that appellant Yadav, after throwing his Jhola, jumped off from the stairs through the side railing of the stairs but he was chased by PW 62 and Ors. He came out of the Collectorate compound through the eastern gate but no sooner he reached in front of the District Board Office, he was apprehended near a fruit stall. He immediately confessed his guilt before those present here and stated that he had killed the Collector at the instance of his Guru Sant Gyaneshwar (meaning thereby appellant Tripathi) as the Collector had done great harm to his Guru and had also demolished his Ashram. He also said that the bomb was supplied by accused Sadique through his relation. There was injury on his head and blood was oozing and he was brought near the portico where the Collector was lying dead. Hearing the explosion Ram Chandrika Sharma, Inspector of Police, PW 14, rushed to the place of occurrence and he immediately recorded the Fardbeyan of PW 62, the brother of the deceased, which has been: marked as Exhibit -3. While the Fardbeyan was being recorded PW 6, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Gopalganj, also arrived there and he took up the investigation from PW 14. On the direction of the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Criminal Investigation Department, the investigation of the case was handed over to Bhola Prasad, PW 65, who took charge on 13 -4 -1983. He was assisted by a number of Police Officers in course of investigation and they are PWs 18, 49, 58, 59 and 64.