EMPEROR Vs. BISESWAR DE ALIAS BISWESHAR RAJ

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Five accused persons were put on their trial before the Sessions Judge of Noakhali and a special Jury. They were all charged with conspiracy to murder Bipin Behari Shaba; one of the accused, Biseswar Rej, alias Biseswar Raj, was charged with having actually committed the murder; two of them, Jatindra Mohon Das and Satish Chandra Shaha, were charged with having been present abetting the murder, and Jotindra Mohon Das was further charged with having abducted Bipin Behari Saha in order that he might be murderer, the remaining two, Kshetra Mohon Saha and Maharani, were charged with abetment of the murder. Alter a trial held for 28 days the Jury returned a unanimous verdict stating that the case against the first four accused was doubtful and they gave them the benefit of the doubt, and that Maharani was not guilty. The Sessions Judge agreed with the verdict as to Maharani and acquitted her. In respect of the others he disagreed with the verdict and held it to be perverse and thought it necessary for the ends of justice to refer the case to this Court under the provisions of Section 307, Criminal Procedure Code. In his opinion these four accused are guilty of the offences mentioned in the charges laid against them.

(2.) The case against the accused rested mainly on the evidence of an approver, Bidhu Bhusan Saha, (P.W. No. 1), and retracted confessions of the accused. Before considering the strength of the case so made out, it will be convenient to state certain facts which are either undisputed or which have, in our opinion, been proved beyond reasonable doubt.

(3.) Bashpara is a village in the jurisdiction of the Chhagalmaya Police Station and the Feni Sub-Division of the Noakhali District. It is 1-3 miles from Chhagalmaya and nine miles from Feni. In this village a rich Shaha family, of which the principal member is Babu Amar Krisha Chouduri, owns a large pucca house. Babu A.K. Choliduri, who is called by the witnesses Amar Babu, lived sometimes in Chittagong and sometimes at Bashpara. The accused Maharani was a servant of Amar Babu and came from Chittagong to Bashpara at the time of the Durga Puja of 1920. The accused Kshetra Mohon Saha is the brother-in-law of Lai Mohon Babu, who is brother of Amar Babu. The accused Satish Chandra Saha is a nephew of Amar Babu, Jotindra Mohon Das is the son of Ambika who had long worked for the family as a mason and was maintained by Amar Babu and his co-sharers. The accused, Biseswar De, was brought by Ambika a few months before the occurrence to work as a mason. Bidhu Bhusan Saha, the approver, is the brother of the widow of a cousin of Amar Babu. The accused Kshetra had a tailor's shop in one of the rooms of the Shaha's house. The accused Satish and Jatindra and the approver Bidhu were students at the Chhagalmaya School. The ages of the accused are, as recorded by the Sessions Judge, Biseswar 22, Jotindra 18, Kshetra 20, Satish 16 and Maharani 19, Bidhu's age is about 16 years.