PITHA RAM AND OTHERS Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) -Appellants Pitha Ram, Mukh Ram and Sampat Ram were convicted under Sec. 302/34 Penal Code and each one of them was sentenced to life imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 250.00 and in default to undergo three months simple imprisonment by learned Additional Sessions Judge No. 2, Bikaner vide his judgment dated 30.8.96 Appellants have preferred this appeal under Sec. 374 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

(2.) Briefly stated the facts, as alleged by the prosecution, are that the statement (Ex.P/4) of Daulat Ram was recorded on 29.10.92 on the basis of which FIR No. 299/96 was registered at police station Loonkaransar. In his statement, Daulat Ram stated that there was a criminal case pending in the court of Judicial Magistrate Loonkaransar between Pitharam, accused appellant, and Dungar Ram, the uncle of the complainant. Pitha Ram had threatened Dungar Ram many a time to kill him. When complainant Daulat Ram returned from his field to his village Kalwas at about 9.30 a.m., he found that daughters of Dungar Ram were weeping and were crying that Pitha Ram and others had beaten their father. Daulat Ram then took his camel cart and found Dungar Ram lying in his house. He had suffered injuries on various parts of his body as well as on his head. Daulat Ram inquired from him and at that time Dungar Ram told that when he was going to attend the court at Loonkaransar, Pitha Ram', Mukh Ram, Ram Narain, Shankarlal and Sampat Ram came following him. Pitha Ram was armed with a barchhi, Shankarlal with a sword and rest of the persons were armed with lathis. Dungar Ram further told that he was thrown down and with an intention to kill him he was beaten and that he suffered injuries on his head and ribs as well as on his back. It was Pitha Ram who inflicted a barchhi blow on his head. They left him in injured condition considering that he dead. Then Mularam brought him in his camel cart. After this story was narrated by Dungar Ram to Daulat Ram, latter took him in his camel cart to Loonkaransar hospital but in the way Mala Ram brought a jeep from Loonkaransar and then Dungar Ram was shifted to jeep and taken to hospital alongwith Mala Ram and Bhaggu Ram. Medical Officer of Loonkaransar advised them to take Dungar Ram to Bikaner hospital. Then Dungar Ram was taken to PBM Hospital Bikaner and admitted but he succumbed to his injuries. A case under Sec. 302, 147, 148 and 149 Penal Code was registered. During the investigation, Panchayatnama of the dead body was prepared, cloths of deceased Dungar Ram were collected and sealed, site plan Ex.P/5 was prepared and postmortem of the dead body was conducted. Accused persons were arrested. On the basis of their disclosure statements, barchhi and blood stained clothes of Pitha Ram were recovered vide Ex.P/11. Recoveries of lathis were also made at the instance of other accused appellants. After usual investigation challan was submitted before the concerned Magistrate who committed the case to the learned Sessions Judge, Bikaner. Learned Sessions Judge transferred it to the learned Additional Sessions Judge before whom the accused appellants faced trial for offence under Sec. 148, 302 read with Sec. 149 IPC. One of the co- accused persons, namely Ram Narain, was dealt with under the provisions of juvenile Justice Act. Prosecution examined as many as 11 witnesses on its behalf. Then accused appellants were asked to explain the circumstances appearing in the evidence against them as provided under Sec. 313 Cr.PC. They examined DW 1 Chunnilal in defence. Learned Additional Sessions Judge, Bikaner, after hearing both the parties, convicted and sentenced the accused appellants as stated above.

(3.) We have heard the learned counsel for the accused appellants as well as learned Public Prosecutor and the learned counsel for the complainant at length and have also gone through the record.