RAMESHWAR SINGH AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order of conviction and sentence, dated 5-1-1990 passed by Sri PN. Yadav, 3rd Additional Sessions Judge, Hazaribagh, in S. T. No. 224 of 1986, whereby and where under the learned Trial Court has convicted all the accused appellants under Sec. 302 read with Sec. 149 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced all of them to undergo R 1. for life. It will not be out of place to mention here that originally 7 accused persons were facing trial in this case out of them Mahendra Singh, Rabindra Singh and Ashok Kumar Singh are said to be minors at the time of alleged occurrence and hence their case was split up and separated and they were directed to face their trial before the Chief judicial Magistrate, which Court is also a Court for trial of the eases under the Juvenile Justice Act. Thus the Trial of the case against these four accused appellants were taken up and they were convicted and sentenced as aforesaid.

(2.) The prosecution case, in brief, is that on 29-9-1984 the informant Ram Rati Devi (PW 13) was getting her paddy crops harvested by Cholo Mahto (PW l),Parwati Devi (PW 3), Kaushalya Devi (PW 4) and Bimla Devi (PW 12). At about 8-30 a.m. while such harvesting of paddy crops was going on, all the accused persons (including the three whose cases have been split up) having variously armed themselves with weapons like Farsa and Lathi etc. came to the informant's field over which the paddy crops were being harvested. The accused Rameshwar Singh and Badri Singh asked the informant as to why she was getting the crops harvested and also asked her to go away from the field. Whereupon, she along with her labourers went out of the field. At that moment, hearing hue and cry Sarjug Sao Keshri, the brother of the informant's husband Sitaram Keshri (PW 11) rushed towards the paddy field and reaching the lane situated by the side of the said field, he told the accused person as to why they are threatening labourers. They should to go to the owner of the field and protest before him. This infuriated the accused persons and the accused appellant Rameshwar Singh and Badri Singh who were armed with Farsa assaulted him with the weapons in their hands. The accused appellant Sarju Singh who was armed with sword also assaulted Sarjug Sao Keshri with that sword, as a result he sustained injuries and fell down and thereafter, rests of the accused persons also assaulted him with Lathi. Sarjug Sao Keshri succumbed to the injuries on the spot. After committing the murder of Sarjug Sao Keshri, the accused appellants Rameshwar Singh and Badri Singh uttered that they would also murder the deceased's brother Sitaram Keshri (PW 11), i.e. the husband of tho informant. Apprehending danger to the life of the husband of the informant, the informant ran to the house and the labourers, who being frightened left the scene of occurrence. Soon the husband of the informant and some other villagers reached there and the accused persons escaped from the place, who were seen going away by the aforesaid witnesses. After some time the police also reached at the place of occurrence. The fardbeyan of tho informant Ram Rati Devi was recorded and the formal FIR was drawn up against all the accused persons under Sections 147, 148, 149 and 302 of the Indian Penal Code. The police took up the investigation of the case, prepared the inquest report of the dead body and also get the post-mortem examination of the deadbody of the deceased conducted by the Doctor. The police also took the statement of different witnesses and submitted charge sheet in this case against all the 7 accused persons, showing Badri Singh as absconder. Subsequently, charges were framed under Sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code against all these 7 accused persons. However, as mentioned earlier the cases of three accused persons, namely, Mahendra Singh, Rabindra Singh and Ashok Kumar Singh were separated as the Court below was of the opinion that they are minors and sent their cases to the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate i.e. the Court competent to try cases under the Juvenile Justice Act for trial, hence the trial promoted only against 4 accused appellants and ultimately disposed of and order for conviction and sentence as mentioned above was passed.

(3.) The prosecution in all examined 20 witnesses in this case. Out of whom PW 13, Ram Rati Devi is the informant and an eye-witness of the occurrence. PW 12 Bimla Devi, is the wife of the deceased an eye-witness in this case as was also harvesting the paddy props on behalf of the informant PW 9, Ramchandra Sah and PW 14, Parmeshwar Sah also claimed to have witness, this occurrence and are eye-witnesses. PW 11, Sitaram Sao Keshri, husband of the informant, he has claimed to be the owner of the land in question and also the paddy crops, which were harvesting as being grown by him. He reached the place of occurrence after the actual occurrence, but claimed that ho found the accused persons running away from that place.