ANIL GOPE Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both these appeals arise out of the common judgment of conviction dated 22.06.2002 and order of sentence dated 25.06.2002 passed by the learned V th Additional Judicial Commissioner, Ranchi in Sessions Trial No. 68 of 2001, convicting the appellants under section 302/34 IPC and sentencing them to undergo R.I. for life.

(2.) The prosecution case in short is that the informant-Munga Devi (PW-5) lodged fardbeyan on 25.09.2000 at about 10.00 AM to the following effect: At about 6.00 AM she went to her 'Bari' for plucking ladyfinger and her son Kunwar Gope (deceased) went to the nearby well for taking bath. When she was returning at about 8.30 AM to her home after plucking ladyfinger, she heard the sound of cry coming from her house. When she reached her house, she saw that the appellants Anil Gope and Nirmal Oraon were assaulting her son indiscriminately with 'tangi' and 'Khukhari' on his head and shoulder and her son was lying on the ground. She raised alarm, on which appellants fled away. She brought some water but her son died. She started crying. People assembled there and some of them had seenthe occurrence, but nobody came forward to rescue the deceased.

(3.) Learned counsels for the appellants assailed the impugned judgment on various grounds. They submitted that eyewitnesses projected in this case are not eyewitnesses and due to enmity, appellants have been falsely implicated in this case; there are vital contradictions in the place of occurrence and manner of occurrence; appellant-Anil Gope has remained in jail for more than eleven years and appellant-Nirmal Oraon after serving more than nine years of imprisonment, has been released on bail by a Bench of this court.