MUKESH MANDAL Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ALL the four appeals were heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment as all arising out of the same judgment of conviction dated 28.3.2006 and order of sentence dated 29.3.2006 passed by the Sessions Judge, Sahibganj in Sessions Case No.120 of 2003 whereby and whereunder the court having found the appellants Mukesh Mandal and Mahesh Mandal guilty for committing murder of Ganeshi Mandal convicted them for the offences punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code whereas all other appellants were convicted for the offence punishable under Sections 302/149 for causing murder of said Ganeshi Mandal. At the same time, all the appellants were found guilty for the offence punishable under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code and thereby all the appellants were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and further to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years for the offence punishable under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code. Both the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

(2.) THE case of the prosecution as has been made out in the Fardbeyan (Ext.1) is that while the informant Pramila Devi (P.W.1) was in her house on 23.5.2002 along with her two sons Shambhu Mandal (P.W.2) and Brahma Kumar Mandal (P.W.3) as well as her daughter Ramni Kumari (P.W.4), her husband, Ganeshi Mandal came from Bhagalpur at about 8 p.m. He told her that he would be surrendering in the court tomorrow in connection with a case of murder in which he has been made accused. Meanwhile, all the appellants as well as other persons named in the first information report came variously armed and surrounded the house and were exhorting each other to kill her husband Ganeshi Mandal as he had killed Dr.Mandal @ Dharmbir Mandal.They entered into the house. Of them appellants Mukesh Mandal as well as Mahesh Mandal fired shots at her husband causing injuries over the head and face, as a result of which, he fell down and thereafter other accused persons started assaulting him with kicks and danda. Ganeshi Mandal died at the spot. Thereupon they took out the dead body and started taking it away. Meanwhile, when his son Shambhu Mandal (P.W.2) tried to stop them from taking the dead body, accused Kesho Mandal caught hold of him up by his neck and started taking him away also towards the river Ganges. When mother -in -law of the informant and daughter Ramni Kumar (P.W.4) raised alarm, several persons assembled over there but they did not do anything out of fear.

(3.) AFTER two hours, the Investigating Officer Rabindra Kumar Singh (P.W.5) of Borio (Jirwabari O.P) Police Station on receiving rumor that someone has been killed at village Chanan, when he came over there he recorded the fardbeyan of Pramila Devi (P.W.1), on the basis of which a formal FIR (Ext.2) was drawn. The matter was taken up for investigation. During investigation, the Investigating Officer (P.W.5) found the house of one Kalachand Mandal situated adjacent to the house of the informant as the place of occurrence and not the house of the informant. During inspection of the place of occurrence, he did find the mark of wiping off the floor of room and courtyard of the house of said Kalachand Mandal. The Investigating Officer recorded further statement of the informant and also the statements of her sons and daughter. Surprisingly the Investigating Officer does not seems to have recorded the statement of the inmates of the house of Kalachand Mandal where, as per the witnesses P.Ws. 2, 3 and 4, the occurrence had taken place. However, after recording the statements of the witnesses as aforesaid, charge sheet was submitted against 17 persons including these appellants, upon which cognizance of the offences was taken and when the case was committed to the court of sessions, they were put on trial. During trial, one of the accused person, namely, Kesho Mandal died.