DEVENDRA ALIAS SONU Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) SHIVRAJ and Devendra in a trial conducted against them for intentionally causing death of Tejprakash have since been held guilty under Section 302 IPC and sentenced to undergo R. I. for life and a fine of Rs. 1000/-, in default of payment of fine to further undergo one month's R. I. , vide order of conviction and sentence recorded on 28. 6. 2001. Whereas challenging the said order, Devendra @ Sonu has filed Appeal No. 418/2001, SHIVRAJ has filed Appeal No. 419/2001.

(2.) OCCURRENCE leading to the death of Tejprakash, as per prosecution version, had taken place on 29. 2. 2000 at 8. 10 p. m. FIR with regard to the incident was lodged on the same very day at 10. 45 p. m. The first information was lodged by Ramesh (PW-4), brother of the deceased, who got recorded therein that on the eventful day at about 8 p. m. his younger brother had gone outside to take medicine from the doctor. Ten minutes thereafter, 10-12 persons of their colony came to them and Jhabar Choudhary of STD PCO told him that three boys after assaulting his brother Tejprakash by knives in Shriram Nagar had run away. He reached at the place of incident where his brother was lying drenched in blood. Residents of the colony were also, there. Somebody had already informed the police. The police reached there and while on the way to hospital, when he and police inspector asked his brother as to who assaulted him, then his brother revealed name of one boy i. e. Girraj amongst others and after that, he did not state anything further. This incident had been seen by some children residing in the neighbourhood. There were knife injuries on the buttock of his brother and large quantity of blood was oozing out. While on the way to hospital, near Collectorate, his brother became unconscious. Doctors in the hospital declared him dead when he was admitted in the emergency of SMS Hospital. The complainant went back home after placing the corpus in the mortuary. His brother had been murdered due to animosity.

(3.) RAMESH (PW-4) stated that on 29. 2. 2000 at 6. 30 in the evening, he had come to his house from the shop. His younger brothers Tej Prakash and Suresh were in the take medicine. Fifteen-twenty minutes thereafter, Jhabar Mal Choudhary and 3-4 other persons came to their house and told them that three persons had given knife blows to Tej Prakash. Jhabar Mal Choudhary had first disclosed injuries sustained by Tej Prakash, to Suresh (elder brother of witness RAMESH ). It was thereafter that Jhabar Mal had come to give information to him. His brother Suresh had gone to Tejprakash prior in point of time and when he received information, he also sent at the spot where police had already arrived. Tejprakash was put in a Jeep by the police and they all boarded the Jeep. When Tej Prakash was being taken to hospital, he enquired as to who had beaten him, upon which he (Tej Prakash) could only speak `shivraj'. His brother had disclosed name of only Shivraj to him and then became unconscious. Tejprakash had disclosed name of his three assailants to his brother Suresh also who in turn told it to him when he had gone to his house after taking his injured brother to hospital. The names disclosed were Shivraj Meena, Raju Meena and Sonu Nai. In the cross-examination,he stated that his house was at a distance of 3-4 kms. from the place of occurrence. When he reached at the spot, his brother Suresh had already come back to the house and, therefore, he did not meet him at the spot. When the enquired from Tejprakash as to who were his assailants, he was conscious. He also stated that his statement was recorded by the police at about 12. 30 at night.