SARBALA DHEKARO Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS appeal has been preferred by the appellants named above against the impugned judgment and order dated 15.12.1989 passed in Sessions Case No. 135 of 1983 by Shri Sushil Kumar Dwivedi, Sessions Judge, Santhal Parganas, Dumka whereby and whereunder all the appellants named above were found guilty for the offence punishable under Section 412 of the Indian Penal Code and they were convicted and sentenced to undergo R.I. for five years. However, they along with co -accused Bucha Singh Paharia were not found guilty for the offence under Section 396 of the Indian Penal Code and they were, accordingly, acquitted in respect thereof.

(2.) ACCORDING to the prosecution case, a dacoity was committed in the house of P.W.2 Chotu Hembram, the informant situate in village Sindurdih P.S. Raneshwar, District Santhal Parganas, Dumka in the night between 17th and 18th March, 1982 and in course of dacoity several household effects detailed in the fardbeyan (Ext. 4) have been taken away by the dacoits and in course of the commission of the said dacoity Dugga Hembram, the brother of the informant, was killed in the lane adjacent outside the house of the informant by explosive substance. It is alleged that some of the dacoits had entered into the house of the appellants forcibly opening the main door of the house of the informant and two of the dacoits had entered the house of the informant by scaling the eastern wall of the house. According to the fardbeyan P.W.2, the informant, his wife, P.W.3 Lukhi Murmu, and his two niece, namely, P.W.4 Mangli Hembram and P.W.5 Chita Marandi were present in the house but none of them have identified any of the dacoits participating in the said dacoity. On the basis of the said fardbeyan which was recorded on 19.03.1982 at 9.00 hours at the house of the informant by B.C. Murmu, Officer -in -Charge Tongra outpost of Raneshwar P.S., a case under Section 396 of the Indian Penal Code was instituted against unknown dacoits by drawing the formal FIR (Ext.5) on 20.03.82 at 7.15 hours in Raneshwar, P.S. Dumka, Santhal Parganas. In course of investigation some articles as per Ext. 7 series were recovered from the house of the appellants and those articles are said to be the subject matter of the dacoity committed in the house of the informant and those articles were also put on T.I.P. which were identified by P.W.2, the informant and his wife P.W.3 Lukhi Murmu and the aforesaid appellants were brought to book in this case for trial.

(3.) THE learned court below relying upon the testimony of P.W.2, the informant, and P.W.3 Lukhi Murmu read with the testimony of P.W.8 Keshri Nath Jha coupled with the objective finding of P.W. 7, the I.O. found the appellants guilty for the offence under Section 412 of the Indian Penal Code and convicted and sentenced them as stated above.