BIDESHI BHUIAN Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The sole appellant Bideshi Bhuian has preferred this appeal against the order of conviction and sentence dated 27.2.1996 passed by the VIth Additional Sessions Judge, Palamau, in Sessions Trial No. 354 of 1992 under Section 364 of the Indian Penal Code whereby and whereunder the learned Sessions Judge held the appellant guilty of offence under Sections 364/34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of nine years on that count. The accused-appellant was also charged under Section 302/201 of the Indian Penal Code in the alternative but the learned Court below held in the impugned judgment that the charges under Sections 302/201 of the Indian Penal Code were not established against the appellant.

(2.) The facts relevant to this appeal are that on 21.3.1992 at 9 p. m. one Chandradeo Bhuian, a co-accused in the case who absconded in course of trial after being bailed out, went along with this appellant to the house of the informant, namely, Sagar Singh and asked about his mother, whereupon, the informant told Chandradeo Bhuian as to what business he has with his mother and when the talk was going on between the informant and Chandradeo Bhuian, the mother of the informant came out of the house. It is alleged that accused Chandradeo Bhuian and the appellant forcibly took away the mother of the informant towards the east of the house. The informant made search of his mother, but nobody from the village came to his help because the villagers used to call his mother as witch-craft. It is also alleged that a panchayat had taken place few days back and accused Chandradeo Bhuian had called the mother of the informant because the former used to call her witch-craft. On the following day, the informant went to Chandradeo Bhuian and enquired from him the whereabouts of his mother, to which, he said that he knows nothing about her and he had not taken away his mother. The informant suspected that accused Chandradeo Bhuian along with the appellant kidnapped his mother with an intention to kill her and so he reported the matter to the officer-in-charge of Chattarpur P. S. and on the basis of his written report the FIR (Exhibit-2) was lodged. The police took up the investigation into the matter and submitted charge-sheet in the case under Sections 364, 302, 201/34 of the Indian Penal Code, on the basis of which, learned Chief Judicial Magistrate took cognizance of the case and committed the case to the Court of Sessions and finally Sessions Trial No. 354 of 1992 was disposed of by the learned 6th Additional Sessions Judge, Palamau.

(3.) The prosecution examined altogether 11 witnesses in the case out of which PW 6 Suresh Singh, PW 7 Bhawsagar Singh and PW 8 Sagar Singh are the only eye-witnesses to the alleged occurrence and it is the admitted case that the aforesaid PWs are the full brothers.