MD SHAHABUDDIN Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both the appeals are directed against the judgment of conviction dated 30.8.2007 and order of sentence dated 31.8.2007 passed by Sri Gyaneshwar Srivastava, 1st Additional District and Sessions Judge-cum-Presiding Officer, Special Court at Siwan Jail, Siwan, in Sessions Trial No. 320 of 2001, arising out of G.R.No.978 of 1996, Darauli P.S.Case No. 34 of 1996, whereby and whereunder the appellants have been convicted for the offences under Sections 307/34 and 353/34 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 27(2) of the Arms Act read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years under Section 307/34 IPC and a fine of Rs.2000/- each and in default in payment of fine they have been directed further to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months and for the offence under Section 353/34 IPC, the appellants have been directed to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years with a fine of Rs.500/- to each and in default of payment of fine, they have been further directed to undergo simple imprisonment for one month and for the offence under Section 27(2) of the Arms Act read with Section 34 of IPC, the appellants have been directed to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years and a fine of Rs.1000/- each and in default of payment of fine they have further been directed to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two months. All the sentences have been directed to run concurrently.

(2.) The prosecution case, in brief, is that Sri Sanjeev Kumar Singhal, Superintendent of Police, Siwan (P.W.1) had lodged a written report stating, inter alia, therein that on 3.5.1996, he, in his staff car along with his bodyguard Diwakar Prasad Singh and Constables Raghunandan Jha, Ramesh Kumar Yadav, Amir Kumar and Ashok Yadav in a Police Gypsy, came to Darauli Police Station and came to know that there was tension in Darauli Mathia village and the Officer-in-Charge has gone there. Further prosecution case is that thereafter the informant directed literate constable of the Police Station to send a platoon of B.M.P. Force and thereafter at about 17.15 hours he left Darauli Police Station for Siwan. The written report further discloses that when the informant along with his companions reached Don Bazar at 7.30 hours, he found four persons armed with rifles and on seeing his vehicle all the four boarded on a Mahindra jeep. He then ordered his constables to arrest them but by the time the constables reached near the jeep, it hurriedly moved towards the east of Don Bazar. Further case is that informant on his staff car and others on Gypsy followed the jeep and when his vehicle turned on the brick soling road, east of Don Bazar, he found a white coloured Maruti in front of his vehicle and he followed the abovementioned car and jeep for about 2-3 kilometers. It is also prosecution case that when the distance between the informant's vehicle and the vehicles going in front was reduced to 150 yards, firing started from the front vehicle but the informant continued to follow the vehicles, thereafter both the vehicles going in front of the informant stopped near the village Kamkar Tola on Biswania brick soling road, 15 armed persons stepped out of the vehicle, seeing them he stopped the vehicles. It is also the case that he identified Mohd. Shahabuddin, the MLA of Ziradai Assembly Constituency, and all the culprits were armed with rifles, pistols and automatic weapons and they started firing from their respective weapons. The informant also identified Hawaldar Jahangir Khan and Mohd. Khalique, who were the members of Siwan District Police Force among the persons who were firing. Further prosecution case is that the informant instructed his companions to take position and he himself went by the side of his car and took position. The culprits thereafter boarded their respective vehicles and fled away towards the east. It is also the prosecution case that occurrence took place between 17.30 to 18.00 hours in the evening, Informant claimed that appellants along with other co-accused persons had fired at him in order to kill him and also obstructed them in discharge of their official duties.

(3.) On the basis of the aforesaid written report, Daraulli P.S.Case No. 34 of 1996 was instituted under Sections 307, 353/34 IPC and 27 of the Arms Act and police after investigation submitted charge-sheet against the accused persons. Cognizance of the offence was taken and the case was committed to the court of sessions, which ultimately came to the court of Sri Gyaneshwar Srivastava, 1st Additional District and Sessions Judge-cum-Presiding Officer, Special Court at Siwan Jail, Siwan for trial and disposal.