ASLAM @ DEEWAN Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This jail appeal has been filed by the accused-appellant Aslam @ Deewan against the judgement of the learned Additional Sessions Judge (Fast Track) No.2, Jaipur City, Jaipur by accused-appellant Aslam @ Deewan and co-accused Wasim @ Raju were convicted for offence u/s.302/34 of IPC and sentenced to life imprisonment with fine of Rs. 5,000/- each. In default of payment whereof, they were to further undergo rigorous imprisonment of one year. They were also convicted for offence u/s.397/34 of IPC and were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment of seven years each with fine of Rs. 3,000/- each with the stipulation that in the event of their failure to make payment of fine, they will have to further undergo rigorous imprisonment of one year each. Both the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) Factual matrix of the case is that on 23.1.2002, the railway driver Chandra Mohan,PW-25 informed Narayan Singh, the then Station Master, Railway Station, Jaipur, (PW-14) by written report Ex.P-31 while he was on duty in goods train no.MMG-1 and entering in Jaipur yard, he noticed a dead body lying on the driver side near gate no.24 close to the advance signal. The dead body was slightly away from the railway line. Narayan Singh, the Station Master informed the Police Station, Government Railway Police, Jaipur vide Ex.P-31, who undertook the proceedings under Section 174 of Cr.P.C. and got the dead body photographed. Panchnama was prepared and postmortem was conducted. It was there after that Rajendra Singh, PW-42, the then SHO, Police Station Manak Chowk submitted a report to Government Railway Police, Police Station, Jaipur on 14.5.2002, on the basis of interrogation note of the above referred to two accused when they were detained in connection with the investigation of FIR No.148/02 for offence u/s.394 and 307/34 of IPC, which revealed that four months' before they had taken one person to their room on payment of Rs. 100/- for having unnatural sex with him and thereafter they brought him near railway station close to the railway lines and murdered him by causing injuries on his head with the use of iron rod. A First Information Report No.136/02 was registered on that basis and during course of investigation, statement of one Om Prakash Rathore was recorded who stated that on 19.4.2002, he read a news item in newspaper Daspur Express and saw the photograph of the deceased in the newspaper and identified the dead body to be that of his son Vinod Kumar Rathore. The Investigating Officer on the basis of information Ex.P-84 procured from co-accused Wasim and from Ex.P-85 from accused Aslam u/s.27 of the Evidence Act, recovered two blood stained iron rods and some belongings of the deceased vide recovery memo Ex.79 at the instance of accused Aslam and recovery memo Ex.73 at the instance of co-accused Wasim. Charges against both the accused were framed under Section 302/34 and 397/34 of IPC, which they denied and claimed to be tried. Prosecution examined as many as 42 witnesses in support of its case and exhibited 116 documents. No oral or documentary evidence was produced by the defence. However, the accused in their statement u/s.313 of Cr.P.C. stated that they have been falsely implicated in this case. The learned trial court after hearing arguments of the Public Prosecutor and the counsel for accused appellants, convicted both the accused for the aforestated offences. Only one of them i.e. Aslam @ Deewan has preferred this appeal and that too through the Superintendent of Central Jail, Ajmer.

(3.) Since, no one was appearing on behalf of accused-appellant Aslam @ Deewan, we requested Shri Kapil Gupta, learned Advocate to act as amicus curiae and assist this Court, to which he acceded.