AJAY THAKUR Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 3rd May, 1989 passed in Sessions Trial No. 86/88 by the Sessions Judge, Saharsa, convicting and sentencing both the appellants to undergo R.I. for 5 years each under section 452 IPC and R.I. for 5 years each under section 326 IPC. Both the sentences have been ordered to run concurrently. The appellants have further been convicted under section 324 IPC but no separate sentence has been passed under this head.

(2.) THE prosecution case, in short, is that on 30.8.87 at 1 A.M. the Fardbeyan (Ext.2) of informant Urmila Devi (PW 2) was recorded by ASI B.N.Gupta (PW 8) in the Emergency Ward of Sadar Hospital, Saharsa where she stated that she was running a hotel named 'Chulhai Hotel ' since 50 -60 years in a house situated by the side of a road passing between Mahavir Chauk and Chandani Chauk at Saharsa and she along with her family was residing in a portion of that house. On 29.8.87 at about 11 PM both the appellants alongwith Bedanand Ram, Bam Bahadur Yadav, 'Bahnoi ' of appellant Bijay Thakur and 2 -3 others came there with bottle and torch and the appellants started abusing the informant and asked her to vacate the house otherwise she would be killed. When the informant protested the appellants caught hold of her hairs and started dragging her outside the house. On the order of appellant Ajay Thakur his other companions started assautling the family members of the informant with fists and slaps and when the appellants and their companions did not succeed in ousting the informant and her family members from the house, both the appellants poured acid on the informant, Kailash Kumar (PW 7) and Suren Bish - was (PW 3), both grandsons of informant, Bhola Devi (PW 5) and Tikka Devi (PW 1) both daughters of informant causing injuries on their eyes, faces and other parts of the bodies and assaulted them with bottle. The vision of informant and her grandsons was impaired by injuries caused by pouring acid on them by the appellants. The house in which informant was running hotel belonged to one Janardan Bhimseria who had executed an agreement to sell the - house in favour of her husband for a sum of Rs. 28,000/ - in the year 1984 but subsequently in the year 1987 he sold the house to appellants for a sum of Rs. 75,000/ -. According to informant the occurrence took place at the instance of Janardan Bhimseria. On the basis of Fardbeyan of informant a formal FIR under sections 147, 148, 149, 452, 326, 324 and 307 IPC was drawn up and after investigation chargesheet under sections 452, 323, 341, 324, 326 and 307 IPC was submitted against both the appellants, Accused Bedanand Ram, Bam Bahadur Yadav and Bahnoee of Vijay Thakur were not sent up for trial. After commitment of the case to the court of Sessions charges under sections 452 and 307 were framed against both the appellants who after trial were found guilty under sections 452, 326 and 324 IPC and were accordingly convicted and sentenced as indicated above.

(3.) IN order to prove its case the prosecution has examined 10 witnesses. Suren Bishwas (PW 3) has been tendered. Urmila Dei, (PW 2) is the informant. Tika Devi (PW 1), Phul Devi (PW 4), Bhola Devi (PW 5) and Kailash Kumar (PW 7) are the witnesses to the occurrence and are injured persons. Udai Chandra Mishra (PW 6) is the doctor who had examined the informant and other injured persons. Dr. Chandra Mohan Choudhary (PW 9) had submitted a report (Ext. 6) at the request of I.O. about the injured persons. Dr. R.P.Yadav (PW 10) is the doctor posted at Sadar Hospital, Saharsa at the relevant time under whose treatment the injured persons remained till their discharge from the hospital. Bishwanath Gupta (PW 8) is the I.O.