SHUBH NARAYAN PANDEY Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants herein have appealed against their conviction and sentence in S.T. No. 501/90j26/9Obythe4thAddl. Judicial Commissioner, Ranchi, by the judgment and order dated 29th February, 1992, Appellants 1 to 3 are the brothers and appellant No.4 is their father. Appellant No.1 Subh Narayan Pandey has been found guilty of offence under Section 302. I.P.C. and sentenced to life imprisonment. Appellants 2 and 3 have been found guilty of the offence under Sections 302/34. I.P.C. and have also been sentenced to life imprisonment. Appellant No.4, having been found guilty of the offence under Sections 302/114, has also been sentence to undergo imprisonment for life.

(2.) The sessions trial arose out of an occurrence said to have taken place at 5.25 A.M. on 25-7- 1990, at Sharma Road, near Dhurwa Bus Stand, in which one Akshywat Kumar Singh, brother of the informant, P.W. 2, lost his life, on account of the injuries caused to him by a sharp cutting weapon. The F.I.R. was lodged by P.W. 2, Sunil Kumar Singh at 7.45 A.M. on the same day, when the police reached the Plant Hospital of the Heavy Engineering Corporation, where the deceased had been removed for medical aid. In his report to the police. P.W. 2, Sunil Kumar stated that on the date of occurrence, he along with his elder brother, Akshywat Singh was sleeping in his flour mill shop situated at Sharma Road. At about 5.15 A.M., Ashok Pandey, appellant No. 3, knocked at the door of the shop and woke them up. Akshaywat Singh, the deceased, opened the door and asked appellant Ashok Pandey as to what was the matter. On which, Ashok told him that he had to talk to him and so saying he took Akshaywat to a place about 10 steps way. The brothers of Ashok Pandey namely, Shubh Pandey, appellant No. 1 and Vijay Pandey, appellant No. 2 also came there. The informant kept standing as he was under the impression that they were discussing some matter about the shop. He then saw that Vijay Pandey, appellant No. 2, caught his brother by his waist and Ashok Pandey appellant No. 3, took out a pistol. Appellant No. 1, Shubh Pandey pulled out a TGuptiT and thereafter their father, Shivnath Pandey, appellant No.4 exhorted them to kill Akshaywat Singh. He was seen running to the place of occurrence from his house. Appellant No.1, Shubh Narayan Pandey, stabbed Akshaywat with his Gupti on the left side of his chest, as a result of which he fell down. The informant raised alarm, but the assailants ran away. Vinay Kumar Shahi and Ram Kumar Singh came to the place of occurrence and arranged for a Tempo in which. Akshaywat was taken to the Plant Hospital, where the Doctor declared him dead. The main cause for the occurrence, mentioned in the report was that the accused person had also a shop near the shop of the informant and for some time they had been pressurising the informant to give his shop to them. His brother, Akshaywat Singh, the deceased, had opposed this proposal.

(3.) The prosecution has examined 5 witnesses to prove its case. The defence has also examined one witness to establish the plea of alibi of Vijay Pandey, appellant No. 2. P.Ws. 1, 2 and 3, claimed to be the eye witnesses, whereas P.W. 4 is the Medical Officer of Ranchi Medical College Hospital, who performed the post-mortem examination on the deadbody of the deceased. P.W. 5 is the Investigating Officer of the case.