SARBAN CHOUDHARY Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Criminal Appeals 198. 262 and 263 of 1985 having arisen out of a common judgment and order of conviction recorded by the IInd Additional Sessions Judge of Madhubani in Sessions Trial No. 35 of 1980/36 of 1983 are being disposed of by this judgment. All the six appellants in criminal appeal No. 198 of 1985 have been convicted and sentenced under Sections 147. 323 and 426 of the Indian Penal Code to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years, one year and three months respectively. Besides appellant No. 6 Hiralal Choudhary in the said appeal has been further convicted and sentenced under Section 325 of the Indian Penal Code to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years. Both the appellants in criminal appeal No. 262 of 1985 and the sole appellant in criminal appeal No. 263 of 1985 have been convicted under Sections 148, 324, 302 and 426 of the Indian Penal Code. They have been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life for the offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, besides undergoing rigorous imprisonment for three years, three years and three months respectively for the offences under Sections 148, 324 and 426 of the Indian Penal Code. Sole appellant Kamal Nath Choudhary in criminal appeal No. 263 of 1985 has been further convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for five years under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code. The sentences of the appellants in all the appeals have been directed to run concurrently.

(2.) The prosecution case, as unfolded in the first information report (Ext. 10) of one Uma Kant Jha of village Shahpur within Pandaul Police Station in Madhubani district recorded at the Surgical Ward of Madhubani Sadar Hospital on 11.9.1979 at 10.45 a.m., is that on 9.9.1979 at about 4 or 5 in the evening he had gone to his paddy field when he noticed that about 15 to 20 heads of she- buffalo were grazing on his 'Kharhore' situated nearby and his co-villagers Kamal Nath Choudhary, Nagendra Choudhary, Bul-bul Choudhary, Bachha Choudhary, Kamp Narayan Choudhary, Hari Choudhary, Kali Choudhary, Hiralal Choudhary (the appellants herein) and some others were present there with weapons in their hands and getting his 'Kharhore' grazed by those animals. Consequently, he went there and protested. That led to some altercation between them and the accused persons threatened him and asked to go away. When he started driving away the she- buffalo of Kamal Nath Choudhary, the latter struck on his head with farsa which he was wielding. When he raised alarm, his two sons Jeewach Jha (PW 8) and Sarjug Jha (deceased) arrived there. They were greeted with blows by means of the weapons the accused were carrying. The assailants inflicted injuries on the persons of the informant and his two sons named above. When they fell down, appellants Kamal Nath Choudhary and Hari Choudhary put a lathi on the neck of the deceased Sarjug Jha and started pressing the same. In the meantime, PW 6 Jadubeer Jha, a nephew of the informant arrived there on a bicycle. When he intervened, he was assaulted by appellants Bachha Choudhary and Kampa Narayan Choudhary by means of bhala and garasa. They also relieved PW 6 of his bicycle and wrist watch, besides a bag containing dhoti, a lungi and some other articles. The injured lost their senses at the spot. They were taken to Madhubani Sadar Hospital by the co-villagers. Injured other than deceased Sarjug Jha were treated there. As the condition of deceased Sarjug Jha was very critical, he was immediately transferred to Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital at Laheriasarai where he succumbed to the injuries on 11.9.1979. It appears that in course of investigation complicity of as many as nine others also came to light and they were put on trial alongwith these appellants.

(3.) On such facts, appellants Kamal Nath Choudhary, Hari Choudhary, Kamp Narayan Choudhary alias Kampa Choudhary and bachha Choudhary, besides co-accused Bulla Choudhary and Lutan Choudhary were charged under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for committing the murder of deceased Sarjug Jha. They were also charged under Sections 148 and 324 of the Indian Penal Code. All the appellants were also charged under Sections 307 and 426 of the Indian Penal Code for attempting to commit murder of Uma Kant Jha and committing the mischief. Appellants Nagendra Choudhary, Bulbul Choudhary, Hari Choudhary and Sarwan Choudhary, besides seven others named Bishwanath Choudhary. Sarjug Choudhary, Tirpit Choudhary, Mode Narayan Choudhary, Hitai Choudhary, Bhogi charged under Sections 147 and 323 of the Indian Penal Code. Appellant Hira Choudhary was further charged under Section 325 of the Indian Penal Code for voluntarily causing grievous hurt to Umakant Jha, and appellant Sarwan Choudhary and Hira Choudhary, besides co-accused Raj Kumar Choudhary were charged under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code. The accused persons including the appellants denied the charges and pleaded false implication due to enmity.