JUDAGI GOPE Vs. EMPEROR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The five appellants have been convicted by the learned Additional Sessions Judge of Patna, in agreement with a 6 to 1 majority verdict of a jury, under Secs.302, 148 and 147, I.P.C. Under & 302 all five have been sentenced to undergo transportation for life and have further been sentenced to pay fines of Rs. 50 each, in default to undergo further six months rigorous imprisonment. Two of them have been convicted under Section 148, and the other three under Section 147, but there have been no separate sentences under these Sections. The case arose out of an occurrence which took place on 16 May 1939, at village Rupaspore, police station Hilsa. The prosecution case was that there was enmity between one Bilfa Dusadh and his brother Kirpali Dusadh on the one side of Ramsaran Das and his people on the other. According to the story of the prosecution, on Tuesday, 16 May, Bilfa Dusadh went to his khaiihan in village Bupaspore and found his heap of straw (punj of newari) disturbed and partly removed.

(2.) Seeing this he started abusing the unknown persons who had done that. Ramsaran Das was in his own khalihan nearby, and hearing the abuse he shouted that Bilfa was abusing him and that he should be beaten. Thereupon, Ramsaran's son Judagi came along and threw Bilfa down, and then Ramsaran, Judagi, Ramsaran's cousin Kamal, Kamal's sons Madan and Ramdeo, and also Gopi Das, brother of Ramsaran, all started assaulting Bilfa. Hearing the noise Bilfa's brother Kirpali was coming to save his brother when a mob of 15 or 20 persons, most of whom were said to be related to Ramsaran Das, surrounded Kirpali and severly assaulted him. After the assault on the two brothers, Ramsaran led the whole mob to Eirpali's house where Kirpali's wife Bulkania was injured, and the mob looted away various things belonging to Kirpali. It was also said that Bilfa's wife had attempted to protect Kirpali when he was, assaulted and had received injuries: It was said that Bilfa Dusadh died within a few hours as a result of the injuries received in the assault.

(3.) The defence case which was not however put forward expressly by any of the accused in their statements, or in a written statement, and had to be gathered from the suggestions in cross-examination, was that the assault on the deceased Bilfa took place some time on the Monday night and nobody saw the assault or the assailants, When the assault was discovered in the morning, the wife of the deceased Bilfa and the wife of Kirpali started abusing some persons whom they suspected and these persons assaulted the two women and Kirpali on the morning of Tuesday, the 16th. The defence case further was that none of the accused took any part in either of the two occurrences and that they had been implicated falsely on account of enmity borne to them by Sanehi (P.W. 1), Mahadeo (P.W. 2) and Ors.. Originally 23 persons were placed upon trial in respect of the entire series of incidents, but two of them were discharged by the committing Magistrate.