CHANDRA MOHAN RAUT Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE three appeals have arisen from the decision of 4th Additional Sessions Judge, Bhagalpur, in Sessions Case No. 3/1985. The appellants were tried under sessions 364, 380, 302 and 302/149 I.P.C. The three appellants were charged under section 147 I.P.C. and rest three appellants were charged under section 148 I.P.C. for the offence of rioting and accused Basudeo Rout alone stands charged u/s 323 I.P.C. for voluntarily causing hurt to Draupadi Devi.

(2.) THE Additional Sessions Judge convicted all the appellants under section 302/149 I.P.C. and sencenced to rigorous imprisonment for life. Charge u/s 302 I.P.C. was redundant. The appellants had been charged u/s 302/149 IPC still the appellants have been convicted u/s 364 IPC and sentenced to ten years. Appellant Basudeo Yadav is convicted u/s 323 I.P.C. and sentenced to six months. Appellant Ratneshwar Rout, Basudeo Yadav and Mantu Yadav have been sentenced two years each u/s 148 IPC and appellants Chandra Mohan Raut, Katki Rout and Subodh Manjhi have been sentenced one year u/s 147 IPC.

(3.) THE motive suggested by the prosecution is that there was a partition dispute among the eight brothers of appellant Chandra Mohan including Ratneshwar and Katki Raut. A Panchayati was held in which deceased Babulal Raut and Madhav Prasad Yadav were panches. Appellant Chandra Mohan and other seven brothers after obtaining the permission of Chakbandi Officer put their signatures and L.T.I. over the blank stamps. The said paper of Partition was handed over to Satya Narayan Yadav. Satya Narayan Yadav, the brother of Chandra Mohan who handed over it to Babulal Raut for safe custody. After sometime some differences again crept in among the brothers regarding partition and they wanted back the blank stamp papers bearing their signatures and L.T.I. along with other papers from the deceased which he refused to give and so they committed the murder by preplanned manner. The appellants pleaded in defence that they have been falsely implicated in this case as a result of grave suspicion against them. The fact was that Babulal was murdered in the night of 18.7.84. It is established fact that Dr. M.M.Rahman, a Medical Officer, Banka Subdivisional Hospital who held post mortem on the deceased and found the following injuries on the person of the deceased: (i) incised wound in front and side of neck, below thyrad cartilage 4" x 1/2 x cervical bratibga. The trachea was completely out. (ii) one lacerated wound on the left side of the upper eyelid 1" x 1/2" x skin deep. (iii) one incised wound on left and front pina of the left ear starting from the lobule of the ear upto the middle part of the ear 1" x 1/2" x skin deep.