SANJAY YADAV AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Challenging their conviction recorded by 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, Munger, vide judgment dated 27.01.1994 recorded in Sessions Case No. 587 of 1990 convicting the appellants for offence under Section 302/149, Indian Penal Code for life imprisonment and for offence under Section 364 IPC with life imprisonment and further convicting appellant no.1 Sanjay Yadav, appellant no. 2 Bodh Narayan yadav and appellant no. 3 Bhikri Yadav under Section 148 IPC and sentenced for one year, appellant no. 4 Umesh Yadav was convicted for offence under Section 147 IPC and sentenced for six months, and convicting all the appellants for offence under Section 341 IPC without any separate sentence, this appeal has been filed.

(2.) It is the case of the prosecution that on 26.10.1989 all the appellants at about 4 PM in the evening with common intention armed with deadly weapons formed an unlawful assembly restrained Baidyanath Yadav, abducted him and ultimately murdered him during the night intervening 26th-27th October, 1989. It is the case of the prosecution that a fardi was recorded by the informant Binod Kumar Yadav (since dead) and in view of deceased Baidyanath Yadav that both the informant and the deceased along with two labourers PW 1 Lakhan Yadav and PW 2 Sunder Yadav after concluding the measurement of stone chips and meeting the labourers when they were coming back, at a place called Babhanchaka Bahiyar, eight miscreants stopped them out of whom the informant recognized the four appellants herein. They stopped all of them by surrounding them and for the purpose of extorting money they took away the deceased Baidyanath Yadav, threatnened the informant, and PW 1 and PW 2 to flee away and dragged the deceased towards the mountain. His dead body was found on the next day, i.e. on 27.10.1989. The motive for offence was recovery of rangdari tax from the deceased Baidyanath Yadav who is said to be a petty contractor.

(3.) The prosecution in all examined 8 witnesses which included PW 1 and PW 2 Lakhan Yadav and Sunder Yadav. The witnesses named in the FIR and fardi by the informant who could not be examined as he died during the pendency of the trial. PW 3 Rana Pratap Singh, Medical Officer, who performed the postmortem of the deceased, PW 4 Ramrup Yadav witness to the inquest report Ext. 2, PW 5 Bhagwat Mandal witness to the seizure of the stone pieces with blood, PW 6 Rambaran Yadav father of the deceased, who says that fardi was recorded in his presence, PW 7 and PW 8 Pankaj Kumar Yadav and Hansu Yadav two more eye-witnesses to the incident and PW 9 Umesh Kumar Choudhary- the Investigating Officer and PW 10 the witness to identify the seizure list.