RAMHIT Vs. EMPEROR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants in these three appeals have been charged and convicted under Secs.302/149, Indian Penal Code, and sentenced to transportation for life. All the appellants wore charged in connexion with, a riot on 7 June 1931, in the village of Bhatwaria, which is about 40 miles from Allahabad in the course of which at least seven persons have been proved to have been murdered. The appellants in Appeals Nos. 220 and 574 of 1933, absconded. Ram Sarup the appellant in Appeal No. 220 of 1933 was arrested on 17 June 1932 and Gopal the appellant in Appeal No. 574 of 1933 was arrested on 6 December 1932. As the appellants in all the three appeals have been convicted in connexion with the same occurrence it will be convenient to consider the three-appeals together. The events of 7th June 1931 have been exhaustively discussed by the learned Sessions Judge in Appeals Nos. 288 and 574 of 1933 and we consider it unnecessary therefore to as more than refer briefly to the main facts at this stage.

(2.) One of the murdered men Mohammad Jawwad was the sole proprietor of the village of Bhatwaria. Sometime in the mon May, 1931, Jawwad accompanied by three or four of his servants went to the village to collect rent. The tenants however who had been affected by the no rent campaign refused to pay. On their refusal it is proved that Jawwad and his servants ill treated a number of the tenants, who however offered no violent resistance. Jawwad then left the village with his servants, but warned the tenants that he would return in the course of ten days to collect rents and threatened them with harsher measures should they again refuse to pay. Pour days prior to 7 June 1931, Jawwad sent Gulzar Khan, P.W. 1, one of his servants, to the village to inform the tenants that he proposed on 7 June 1931, visiting the village for the purpose of collecting rents.

(3.) On the 7 June, at about 8 a.m., Jawwad accompanied by about 25 men arrived in the vicinity of the village. Jawwad's party was armed with lathis and Jawwad himself had a gun. On approaching the village they observed a large crowd consisting of several hundreds of the tenants armed with lathis congregated at the outskirts of the village. It was obvious that the tenants intended to resist the collection of rents by force. Jawwad and his party however continued to advance towards the village until they approached the margin of a large tank on the other side of which the crowd was congregated. There they stopped and Gulzar Khan, P.W. 1, was sent by Jawwad to summon the leaders amongst the tenants, namely, Narain and Sallahi. Narain and Sallahi obeyed the summons and when Jawwad inquired of them why the tenants had congregated in force they reminded him of his harsh treatment of the tenants on his last visit to the village and of his threat on that occasion. They informed him further that the tenants had assembled with the object of resisting him if he attempted to carry out his threat. Jawwad thereupon replied that he did not propose to resort to force if the tenants paid him a proportion of the rent at least to enable him to pay the Government Revenue. Narain and Sallahi then said that they would go back and discuss the matter with the tenants. Shortly afterwards they returned and informed Jawwad that the tenants would not pay the rent until they had been advised to do so by their leader one Gayadin Pundit of the village of Bais Kanti whom they had sent for. They further informed Jawwad that there were a number of Congress volunteers in the crowd who had demanded from Jawwad one anna each for their charban. Jawwad retorted that he had come to realise his rents and not to feed the Congress volunteers. Narain and Sallahi then returned: to their companions. Shortly afterwards according to the prosecution evidence two large bands of more than 100 each, one led by Gayadin Pundit and the accused Nandji and the other by Lal Bahadur arrived from Bais Kanti and Sehsa and joined the assembly of tenants at the tank at Bhatwaria. Later smaller bodies of villagers came from the direction of other villages in the vicinity and eventually the number at the tank rose to almost a thousand. After the lapse of a short interval Jawwad evidently hoping for an amicable settlement and called to the crowd "Are you going to pay any rent or shall I go back?" At this stage according to the prosecution evidence Gayadin Pundit and Nandji came to the forefront of the crowd and shouted back to Jawwad "wait and take some of your rent. Do not go back empty handed." They then turned to the crowd and shouted "Now beat them. Do not let them escape." From that moment it became clear that the crowd intended to resort to violence. They showered clods and brickbats on Jawwad and his party. Jawwad endeavoured to argue with the crowd and threatened to shoot them if they did not desist from throwing the brickbats. This had no effect upon the mob which was now completely out of control. Jawwad then fired two shots in the air in the hope of frightening the mob. This action also had no effect however and the mob advanced upon Jawwad and his party who thereupon began to retreat. Jawwad endeavoured to keep the crowd at bay by shooting into it at intervals. The evidence shows that he fired 25 or 30 shots. This exhausted his ammunition. Thereafter the crowd could no longer be kept at bay. They pursued and overtook Jawwad and his party and battered Jawwad and six of his servants to death.