SURESH PANGA Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Criminal Appeals No. 1269/2007, 1270/2007 and 1399/2007 have been preferred assailing common judgment and order dated 04.06.2007, passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge (Fast Track) No. 1, Ajmer, in Sessions Case No. 77/2005, whereby learned trial court convicted accused-appellants Satya Narain @ Sattu, Mangla Ram, Sumer Banta and Dagalnath, for offence under Sections 396 and 201 IPC. For offence under Section 396 IPC, they have been sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 1000/- each; in default of payment of fine, each of them has to further undergo three months simple imprisonment. For offence under Section 201 IPC, they have been sentenced to undergo five years rigorous imprisonment with fine of Rs. 500/- each; in default of payment of fine, each of them has to further undergo one month's simple imprisonment. All the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) Since accused-appellant Suresh Panga in Criminal Appeal No. 816/2016 and two other accused, namely, Govind Beda and Sanjay Budiya, were absconding, the investigation against them was kept pending under section 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Accused-appellant Suresh Panga was arrested on 30.09.2013 and the police filed charge-sheet against accused-appellant Suresh Panga for offence under Sections 302, 201, 396 and 120B of the IPC. Ultimately the trial against him proceeded in the court of Additional Sessions Judge No. 4, Ajmer, who, vide judgment and order dated 06.06.2016, convicted him for offence under Sections 396, 201 and 302 IPC. For offence under Section 396 IPC, the accused-appellant was sentenced to undergo life imprisonment with fine of Rs. 1000/-; in default in payment of fine, he was to further undergo three months' simple imprisonment. For offence under Section 302 IPC, he was sentenced to life imprisonment with fine of Rs. 1000/-; in default in payment of fine, he was to further undergo three months' simple imprisonment. For offence under Section 201 IPC, he was sentenced to undergo five years' rigorous imprisonment with fine of Rs. 500/-; in default in payment of fine, each of them was to further undergo one month's simple imprisonment. All the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

(3.) All these appeals arise out of common First Information Report No. 36/2005 lodged with Police Station Pushkar, District Ajmer, on 23.02.2005, for offence under Sections 302 and 201 IPC, on the basis of written report submitted by one Khamishe Khan to Station House Officer, Police Station Pushkar, stating therein that his brother Ditte Khan used to drive taxi car Qualis vehicle No.RJ-19 T3 3914. On 17.02.2005, he had gone to Jodhpur to drop certain passengers. The informant had a talk with him at about 10:30 PM, who told him that he would come back to Jaisalmer on the next day early in the morning after taking passengers in the taxi vehicle. Thereafter, on the next day the informant again telephoned him at about 9:00 AM, however, the phone was not connected. It was thereafter that the informant received a telephonic message from the Police Station, Jaisalmer, that the said Qualis vehicle was lying unclaimed in the area of Police Station, Amer. After sometime, another message was received that dead body of an unknown person was lying near Pushkar. After that, the informant went to Pushkar, where he was shown photos (Exhibits P-2 and P-3 in Appeal No. 127/2007) and certain clothes of a deceased .Then he learnt that the said dead bod is of his brother Ditte Khan and that he has been murdered by certain unknown persons who threw his body in the bushes of Pushkar valley.