MANJAI YADAV Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellants are A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, A9, All, A12, A13, A14, A15 and A16. Toti Yadav, who was arrayed as AID, was acquitted by the Trial Judge. In this judgment, the appellants and Toti Yadav will be referred as A1 to A16 in the same order as they were arrayed before the Trial Judge for the sake of convenience.

(2.) ALL the appellants accused and Toti Yadav were charged under Section 302 read with Section 149 I.P.C and A1 Manjai Yadav was not only charged under Section 302 read with Section 149 I.P.C but also charged under Section 302 I.P.C. The Trial Judge, while finding A1 Manjai Yadav as well as other accused except A10 Toti Yadav guilty under Section 302 read with Section 149 I.P.C, found A1 Manjai Yadav guilty under Section 302 I.P.C, which we find it to be strange as no man can be convicted twice for the same offence. On being convicted, each of them was sentenced to imprisonment for life.

(3.) AT 1.00 p.m. on 1.11.1982, P.W.I, Shiv Prasad Yadav, the deceased Surji Devi and Shankar Yadav P.W.3 were harvesting paddy in the disputed land. The accused party went there armed with lathi and they were also in possession of bombs. They asked P.W.I as to why they are harvesting paddy, but the prosecution party continued to harvest. A1 Manjai Yadav threw a bomb which fell on the deceased Surji Devi, then she died. Bengali Yadav A9 threw another bomb at Shankar Yadav, P.W.3, causing injury to him. The occurrence was witnessed by P.W.I Shiv Prasad Yadav, P.W.2 Raj Kumar Yadav, P.W.3 Shankar Yadav, P.W.4 Oil Mohan Yadav and P.W.6 Jagdish Jha. Thereafter, Ext.2, the fardbeyan, was given at the police station at 1.00 a.m. on 2.11.1982. A crime was registered and investigation was taken up by P.W.9, Jagdish Chandra Yadav, who conducted inquest and sent the injured to the hospital for treatment and the dead body for post mortem.