BHOLA KUMAR Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These three appeals have been preferred against the judgment and order of 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Hazaribagh dated 8/10th Jan., 1996 in Sessions Trial No. 91 of 1994. There are altogether six appellants, who have been convicted by the learned 1st Additional Sessions Judge. Bhola Kumar, Uday Sankar Verma, Yugal Mistri and Nawal Kishore Singh are the four appellants in Cr. Appeal No. 33 of 1996(R). Of them Uday Sankar Verma has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life under Sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code, as also to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year under Sec. 27 of the Arms Act. The remaining three appellants have been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life under Sec. 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) Two persons are said to have been killed in the occurrence giving rise to the instant appeals. While appellant Omprakash and Uday Sankar Verma have been held to have murdered Nagendra Singh by use of fire-arms, appellant Sheo Shankar Prasad is alleged to have committed the murder of Kali Pado Chakraborty by firing at him while he was attempting to escape. Other three appellants are said to be the accomplice who shared the common intention to commit the murder of the aforesaid two persons. The sentences have been directed to run concurrently,

(3.) The occurrence is said to have taken place on the night intervening 3rd and 4th Aug., 1993. It is the prosecution case that the occurrence which took place at about 2 a.m. on 4.8.1993 was preceded by heated exchange of words between the accused on the one hand and one Jitendra Parmar, owner of Parmar Petrol Pump on the other. There was a dispute between them in connection with the purchase of a truck. The actual occurrence is said to have taken place at a distance of 500 yards from the Petrol Pump of Jitendra Parmar where there was heated exchange of words between the parties. According to the Investigating Officer the Petrol Pump of Jitendra Parmar is located on National Highway No. 31, and the actual occurrence took place at a point 500 yards to the north of the Petrol Pump on the western flank of the said Highway. Deceased Nagendra Singh, according to the prosecution, was the driver of the truck in question and was an employee of Jitendra Parmar, while Kali Pado Chakraborty was the Manager of Jitendra Parmar. The Khalashi of the truck in question, namely, Birendra Kumar (PW 1), who, said to be an eyewitness, was examined at the trial as PW 1, but he was declared hostile, as he did not claim to have any personal knowledge about the occurrence and denied having made any statement before the police in connection with the occurrence in question. Similarly, PW 3 (Bachulal) and PW 4 (Hari Narayan Sharma), examined on behalf of the prosecution, were declared hostile as they did not support the prosecution case. According to the prosecution these witnesses has arrived at the place of occurrence soon after the occurrence.