SURESH SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 12th June, 2002 passed by Ad hoc District & Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court No. 1, Saran at Chapra, in Sessions Trial No. 280 of 1992 whereby both the appellants Suresh Singh and Bisheshar Singh, who are brothers, have been convicted of the charge u/s. 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to life imprisonment. The impugned judgment mentions that third named accused Mohan Singh, son of appellant no.1, was found to be juvenile and, therefore, his trial was separated.

(2.) IN this case, fard bayan of P.W. 5 Lalmati Devi was recorded on 6.8.89 at 19.45 hours at Sadar Hospital, Chapra, by S.I. Ranbir Singh of Bhagwan Bazar P.S. In the fard bayan, in brief, she has claimed that at 7.00 a.m. in the morning she heard shouting by appellant no. 1 Suresh Singh coming from his Sahan. On that she came out from her house and saw that the cousin of her husband Kameshwar Singh (deceased) was being assaulted by appellant no. 1 Suresh Singh with wooden stick (Labda) on back, appellant no. 2 Bisheshar Singh with a view to kill struck Kameshwar Singh with a Tanga on the head causing cut injury on the center of the scalp which caused bleeding injury. Then Kameshwar Singh fell down and became unconscious. Thereafter Mohan Singh, son of appellant no. 1, assaulted Kameshwar Singh with lathi. The informant ran and reached at the place of occurrence to help the deceased. On her shouting, ladies from the neighbourhood came and the three assailants ran away. It has further been disclosed that appellant no. 1 Suresh Singh and appellant no. 2 Bisheshar Singh and deceased Kameshwar Singh are brothers and they have two more brothers, namely, Chandraket Singh and Basant Singh and there has been a partition between the five brothers one year earlier. In the Panchayati, it was settled that in lieu of bricks of the house, an amount of rupees six hundred shall be paid by Kameshwar Singh (deceased) to appellant Suresh Singh but in spite of several demands Kameshwar Singh did not pay that money for which appellant Suresh Singh had also approached the husband of the informant Vijay Singh with a request that he should persuade Kameshwar Singh to pay that money. Allegedly few months earlier another brother of appellants Chandraket Singh, who used to live with Kameshwar Singh, was also assaulted but no case was lodged for that occurrence. For these reasons, the three accused persons had allegedly assaulted Kameshwar Singh with a view to kill him, Kameshwar Singh was carried in injured condition by the husband of the informant, Raj Kumar Singh, Bhism Bahadur Singh (P.W. 4) and others to Ekma Govt. Hospital where he was provided treatment by way of first aid and referred to Sadar Hospital, Chapra, where Kameshwar Singh died in course of treatment.

(3.) THE prosecution in order to prove the charge has examined altogether seven witnesses, whereas, the defence has also examined one witness. It further appears that on behalf of the prosecution, signature of Ram Janam Singh (P.W. 3) on seizure list has been marked as Exhibit -1. Postmortem report, as proved by the Doctor P.W. 7, has been marked as Exhibit -2 and the fard bayan allegedly given by P.W. 5 has been marked as Exhibit -6 with objection because it was not proved by any witness but taken on record as an exhibit only on application filed by the prosecution after the close of defence case.