SIPAHI SAH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The sole appellant Sipahi Sah is aggrieved by the judgment and order dated 5-9-1991 passed by the Sessions Judge, Rohtas, Sasaram in Sessions Trial No. 29 of 1990 convicting and sentencing him to R.I. for life under Section 302 of IPC and R.I. for 7 years under Section 27 of Arms Act. Both the sentences have been ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) The case of prosecution in short is that on 3-2-1989 at about 6.15 p.m. the Informant Lallan Prasad (PW-2) went to Nokha Police Station taking the dead body of his father Mukha Sah and got FIR (Ext. 1) lodged there stating therein that on the same day in the morning the appellant asked Janeshwar Sah (PW-4), the younger brother of Informant, to give rice to the wife of appellant on which Janeshwar Sah (PW-4) had replied that after asking from his father, he would tell whether the rice was available or not. On the same day in the evening, the appellant came and enquired why the rice was not given on which Janeshwar Sah replied that his father had not returned from Nokha. The appellant then hurled abuses and also gave him threatening for assault on which Janeshwar Sah out of fear closed the shop and came to his house and in the meantime, his father reached and Janeshwar Sah told him the aforesaid facts. The father of Informant then went to appellant for enquiring the matter and some altercation between the appellant and father of Informant took place but that was pacified by the neighbours. When the father of Informant returned from his shop the appellant armed with a country-made gun came to the house of Informant and again started hurling abuses. The father of Informant came out of his house and went near bailghara and the appellant then fired from his gun causing injuries on the upper portion of the back of father of Informant as a result of which he fell down. He was brought on a bus to Nokha Hospital but the moment he was taken out from the bus near the clinic of one Dr.Tulsi, he died there. The Informant then taking the dead body of his father went to the Police Station and lodged the FIR. The Police prepared inquest report (Ext. 3) of the dead body and sent the dead body for post-mortem examination and visited the place of occurrence on the same day at about 7.30 p.m. The Informant during the course of investigation filed a protest petition (Ext. 2) in the Court of C.J.M., Rohtas at Sasaram stating therein that at the time of occurrence one Jagnarain Singh was also with the appellant who exhorted the appellant to fire and at his instigation the appellant had fired on his father but after the death of his father, he had become nervous, therefore, while lodging the FIR he could not disclose the name of Jagnarain Singh. He further stated that in his re-statement he had already named Jainarain Singh also and on this basis the Police had already prayed for issuance of process against Jainarain Singh. The Police after investigation submitted charge-sheet against the appellant and Jainarain Singh under Sections 302/34 of IPC and 27 of Arms Act. The Court below framed charges under Section 302 of IPC and 27 of Arms Act against the appellant and under Section 107 read with Section 302 of IPC against Jagnarain Singh but after trial found the appellant guilty under Section 302 of IPC and 27 of Arms Act and, accordingly, convicted and sentenced him as indicated above. Co-accused Jagnarain Singh was found not guilty and he was acquitted.

(3.) The case of appellant before the Court below was complete denial of charges and his false implication in this case.