SHALIJA NANDAN PRASAD SINHA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is the criminal appeal against the judgment and order of 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, East Champaran, Motihari dated 29th August, 1985, where the trial judge held both these accused-appellants guilty for the commission of the offence under Section 302, read with Section 34 I.P.C. and awarded the sentence of imprisonment for life.

(2.) The prosecution case in the fardbeyan-Exhibit-3 lodged by the injured Kailash Bhagat P.W. 3 is that he and several other prosecution witnesses had gone to the flour mill of the deceased Baidyanath Sahni (who was also a local communist leader and was running his flour mill for the last five years or about) to get his wheat grinded, and he saw that a large number of per-v sons were assembling on the Parti field situate in the east of the flour mill and in the west of a residential house of the accused-appellants and their father Laxmi Narain Sinha, and these assembled persons started ploughing the land with four pair of bullocks and several of them were raising slogans "Communist Party Zindabad", when half of the field was ploughed a communist party's flag was unfurled in that field; after ploughing the whole field the ploughs and bullocks were unyoked and the mob (assembled persons) started leaving the field; then Nunu Babu eldest son of Laxrt: Narain fired his gun, and the mob started running; Nunu Babu along with eight to ten persons who were holding lathies came to the field and Nunu Babu fired thrice again and these fires hit and killed Baidyanath Sahni who fell down inside the ploughed field and Paras Nath P.W. 5 was injured; Bhola Sahni Mistry and one old lady Stnt Akli rushed from the flour mill and came by the side of Baidyanath Sahni to take care of him; again the gun was fired and Bhola Sahni was seriously injured and the old lady Smt. Akli was also injured; Baidyanath Sahni was left at the spot in the field; Bhola Sahni was brought to the Hospital where he was given treatment and Bhola Sahni also died same night at about 2 A.M.; this informant and other persons were also examined and treated.

(3.) This informant Kailash Bhagat P.W. 3 also disclosed in his fardbeyan that he came to know from Jagdish P.W. 10 that the accused-appellant Lallan Ji, Laxmi Narain; Dak Babu of Chaubey Tola, Kailash Raut, Tractor Driver of the accused persons and three to four labourers of the accused-appellants came to this field along with Nunu Babu. Further this Informant came to know from Jagdish that about four hundred persons of different villages armed with Bhalas and Garassas had collected from the side of the deceased Baidyanath Sahni to take forceful possession over this field of Laxmi Babu. All these facts were given by Kailash Bhagat in his fardbeyan-Exhibil-3 to the Police Officer. The formal F.I.R. (Exhibit-4) was entered in the records of the Police Station. Deo Bansh Singh P.W. 14 started investigation in the case. He inspected the place of occurrence. He found that the field between the residence of the accused-appellants and the flour mill of the deceased Baidyanath Sahni was 145 yards and he found at least half of the field was recently ploughed and a flag of Communist Party was unfurled in the middle of the field. The dead-body of Baidyanath Sahni was found twenty yards away in the north of this flag. This dead-body of Baidyanath Sahni was lying ninety-one feet west of the flour mill. The investigation Officer found that in the eastern wall of the flour mill two holes were there and the brick parts were in broken condition. He also found one pellet by the side of the eastern well and he took the same in his custody. The investigation Officer further found that in the east of the flour mill there is a house of Brindaban and there is banana plantation in the southen land appertaining to the house of Brindaban. The Investigation Officer was told that these accused-appellants fired shots from their guns standing by the side of this banana plantation situate in the compound of the house of Brindaban. The Investigation Officer did not find any kind of marks of disturbance over the grass which was growing all around that banana plantation.