CHALU BIN Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a very short appeal. Sri Prakash Narain Pandey, learned Advocate, with his usual brevity in his argument, has addressed us only on the question of sentence, passed against the appellant. He did not attack the finding of the judgment impugned on merit.

(2.) The accused was put on trial on a charge under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (for brevity 'the Code') for committing the murder of one Gajru Bin of village Gonna (better known as village Gautam Asthan) under police station Rivilganj in the district of Saran. The learned Sessions Judge, on consideration of the evidence brought on record, held the accused guilty of the offence under Section 304 Part I of the Code, against which the accused has presented this appeal. The case against him is as follows.

(3.) The deceased Garju Bin, along with P. W. 4 Panchdeo Bin and P. W. 5 Siri Ram Bin were getting back to their village Sitab Diara and when they reached near Gautam-Asthan-Temple, they stopped for taking water. P. Ws. 4 and 5 had felt thirsty and both of them went inside the temple for drinking water; whereas the deceased Garju stayed on outside. Some time after, when both the witnesses P. Ws. 4 and 5 came out, they noticed Garju moving in the company of this accused Chalu Bin. They in fact, saw them scuffling over the sandy stretch of land near the bed of river Sarju. It is stated that in course of the struggle, the accused sat over the chest of Garju Bin and hit him with a dagger on the neck and as well as on the abdomen resulting in his instantaneous death. By that time other two witnesses P. Ws. 1 and 3 had also arrived and they too have testified to the facts as eye-witnesses to the occurence. The Police Officer of Rivilganj recorded the statement of P. W. 4, drew up an F. I. R., registered a case, held inquest over the dead-body and after investigation submitted charge-sheet against this accused. The dead-body was sent for post-mortem examination to hospital at Chapra and the doctor P. W. 7 conducted autopsy over the dead-body. The doctor found the following two ante-mortem injuries over the deceased :