DEBI RAM Vs. EMPEROR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellant, Debi Ram, has been convicted by the learned Sessions Judge of Agra of an offence under Section 324, Indian Penal Code, and sentenced to two years rigorous imprisonment. He has appealed, and has been represented in this Court by Mr. A.P. Dube. The story for the prosecution is that there was a long- standing enmity between Phool Chand and the accused Nek Ram, brother of the appellant and his family. Nek Ram is the zamindar, and on the date of this incident, June 7, 1934, he had called Phool Chand to the house of the Patwari and demanded arrears of rent from him. There was a quarrel between the two, and abuse, which led to a struggle in which Nek Ram felled Phool Chand to the ground. Afterwards as Phool Chand was on the way home, he was attacked by Nek Ram and also by Buddha and Debi Ram, the present appellant. The last-named had a sword, with which he struck Phool Chand several times on the arm, and Phool Chand fell down and lost consciousness. He was afterwards taken to the hospital, and the medical evidence shows that he had received several incised wounds on the right hand and arm. It appears, therefore, that he was trying to protect himself against blows from a sword.

(2.) The story for the defence is that the quarrel started very much in the manner described in the case for the prosecution, but that when Nek Ram arrived at the Patwari's house and had a quarrel with Phool Chand, Phool Chand and his friends Mangal, Khacheru and Reoti beat Nek Ram with lathis and knocked him down, and Khacheru bit him on the nose with his teeth and that on the news of the fight being given to Debi Ram, he ran up with a sword to protect his brother and caused the injuries to Phool Chand which have been described above, in the exercise of his right of private defence under Section 97 of the Indian Penal Code.

(3.) The story for the prosecution was supported by the statements of three witnesses as well as Phool Chand, namely, Ganga Ram who says that he saw the first fight as described by Phool Chand and that he intervened together with Hukum Singh to save Phool Chand from a beating and that Nek Ram then left the place. Hub Lal and Chajju support Phool Chand's story of how he was attacked in cold-blood by Debi Ram with a naked sword in the presence of Buddha and Nek Ram. Both these witnesses say that Debi Ram ran away when Phool Chand fell down.