STATE OF BIHAR Vs. GOVIND SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Sole appellant Govind Prasad Singh alias Govind Singh in Cr. Appeal No. 388/95 has been convicted by the 1st Addl. Sessions Judge of Banka in Sessions Case No. 229/77 under Sections 148, 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code ("the Code" in short) and has been condemned to death for the offence under Section 302 of the Code. He has been further sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life for the offence under Section 307 of the Code. No separate sentence has been passed for his conviction under Section 148 of the Code. Consequently, his sentence of death has been referred to this Court by the Trial Court for confirmation under Section 366 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the said reference has been registered as Death Reference No. 2/95.

(2.) The appellants other than Appellant No. 9 in Cr. Appeal No. 395/95 are convicted ia same sessions case under Sections 147, 302 read with Sections 149 and 307 read with Section 149 of the Code and have been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life for the offence under Section 302 read with Section 149 and rigorous imprisonment for seven years for the offence under Section 307 read with Section 149 of the Code. No separate sentence has been awarded to them for the offence under Section 147 of the Code. Appellant No. 9 Gulli Rai @ Gulabi Rai has, however, been convicted under Sections 302 and 307 with the aid of Section 149 of the Code and sentenced to the same terms of imprisonment as his co-appellants. The sentenceed of all the appellants are directed to run concurrently.

(3.) The prosecution case as disclosed in the first information report lodged by Chawkidar Mahadeo Hajra of village Baratikar with Banka police at 1.00 P.M. on 23-11-1969 is that there was a piece of land measuring about 10 kathas at village Khaira within Banka police station in the district of Bhagalpur (now Banka), the ownership of which was in dispute between Narain Singh(Kahar) and his agnate Laxman Singh, both of the same village. Paddy crops had been grown over the said piece of land. In the morning on that day, i.e., 23-11-1969, while the said Chawkidar was away from his village the said Laxman Singh, his two sons and 3 to 4 others were getting the paddy crops of the said disputed piece of land harvested with the help of 5 to 7 reapers. Laxman Singh and his associates were then armed with weapons. His agnate Narain Singh (deceased) went to the field with his wife and his younger brother's wife to lodge protest. It led to an altercation between the parties. Consequently, Laxman Singh killed deceased Narain Singh and injured his wife and sister-in-law. According to the first information report, when Chawkidar Mahadeo Hajra returned to his village from Phoolahra where he had been to the preceding night, became to know of the occurrence and went to village Khaira to learn from a few villagers, including Appellant No.7 Makeshwar Singh, of what had happened there. Consequently, he went to the paddy field to find Narain Singh lying dead and the two women of his family, namely, wife and sister-in-law, severely injured. The neck of deceased Narain Singh was also almost completely slit. He also found paddy crop from an area of about half a katha harvested on the western side of the disputed field. Leaving the dead and the injured at the paddy field where they had fallen, the Chawkidar Mahadeo Hajra went to Banka police station and lodged the first information report (Ext. 1).