CHANDESHWAR MAHTO Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appeal has been filed against the judgment and order dated 7.5.1986 passed by 5th Additional Sessions Judge, Gaya, in Sessions Trial No. 8/18 of 1985 whereby appellant, Chandeshwar Mahto, has been convicted for the offence under Sec. 302/149 of the Indian Penal Code and has been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life. He was further convicted for the offence under Sec. 364 of the Indian Penal Code and was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years. The appellant has further been convicted under Sec. 449 of the Indian Penal Code, but no separate sentence was awarded under the aforesaid section. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) The case of the prosecution in brief is that one Pashupati Manjhi gave his fardbeyan on 6.7.1983 at 8.15 p.m. before the Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police at his house that his father was coming from Gava to his house. One Ramashankar Lal met him in the lane near the house of one Krishna Sao. Ramashankar Lal went towards Lower Primary School and his father came to his house. After about ten minutes Ramashankar Lal with Fasuli and Pistol, Deonandan Mahto with Fasuli, Prabhu Kumhar with pistol, Sadhu Mahto with bag, Chandeshwar Mahto and Ramdeo Mahto with pistol, Ram Sagar Mahto with Fasuli, Laxmi Kant Dwivedi, Ramdeo Mahto son of Gajadhar Mahto, Srikant Dwivedi, Lalit Mahto, Gajadhar Pandey, Baldeo Pandey, Rambriksh Mahto, Ram Sahay Mahto, Suresh Mahto of his village Barsauna and 15-20 unknown persons came and surrounded his house. They started pushing the entrance door of his house but it could not be opened. Ramashankar Lal thereafter brought a bamboo stair from the house of the wife of Baso Chamar. Ramashankar Lal , Deonandan Mahto, Sadhu Mahto, Prabhu Mahto, Chandeshwar Mahto, Ramdeo Mahto and Ramsagar Mahto climbed over the roof of the house through the stair and there-after they came down in the courtyard of his house. They opened the door of the room facing east in which his father was concealing himself. They caught his father and brought him out of the room. They tied his hands. They started assaulting him and said that they would teach him a lesson. They were raising slogans 'M.C.C. Zindabad'. They took his father to Balitand towards south-west of the callage near the Paimar river. He, his mother Munni Devi, Aunti Munri Devi, Bhabhi Kamla Devi, Puma Devi, Shila Devi and Sakunti Devi raising hullah followed them but Ramashankar Lal was abusing them and obstructing them in following them. His father was thrown on the ground and Deonandan Mahto, Laxmikant Dwivedi, Sadhu Mahto and Ramsagar' Mahto caught him and Ramashankar Lal killed him by cutting his neck. They were weeping and raising hullah. Ramashankar Lal assaulted his mother with the butt of the pistol causing swelling in her hand. The unknown persons were armed with lathi, pistol and fasuli. They .burnt the documents in the oven of his house. The reason of the occurrence was that Ramashankar Lal was pressing his father to join his party and also there was dispute with Deonandan Mahto and others for which litigation in the Court was pending.

(3.) On the aforesaid fardbeyan, Ext. 5, in formal FIR, Ex. 6 was drawn. The Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police after recording the fardbeyan started preliminary investigation. He found the dead body of Bengali Manjhi lying in the Angan of the informant where it was brought by' his family members. He prepared inquest report, Ext. 1, recorded further statement of the informant, inspected the place of occurrence, found incriminating materials at the place of occurrence and prepared seizure list. In the meanwhile the officer incharge of Wazirganj Police Station arrived at the place of occurrence and took over the charge of investigation from the Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police and proceeded with the investigation and after completion of the investigation submitted charge-sheet against twenty-one persons showing eight persons absconders. However, subsequently two absconders, namely, Srikant Dwivedi and Laxnukant Dwivedi surrendered. The Court on receipt of the charge-sheet took cognizance and committed the case to the Court of Sessions for trial on which Sessions Trial No. 2/96 of 1984 was registered. In the said Sessions trial fifteen persons were put on trial, out of them ten were convicted under different sections of the Indian Penal Code and five were acquitted by judgment and order dated 27.3.1985.