SURAJMUKHI YADAV Vs. STATE OF BIHAR (NOW JHARKHAND)

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By Court: Heard learned Counsel for the appellant, Mr. A.K. Sahani assisted by learned counsel, Ms. Amrita Banerjee and learned Additional Public Prosecutor, Mr. Gouri Shankar Prasad representing the State.

(2.) The present appellant has faced conviction for the charge under Sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code and under Sec. 27 of the Arms Act under the impugned judgment dtd. 16/10/1996 passed in Sessions Trial No. 47 of 1988 by the learned court of 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Palamau, Daltonganj and has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life under Sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code, but no separate sentence has been recorded under Sec. 27 of the Arms Act, vide the order of sentence of the same date.

(3.) The prosecution case is based on the fardbeyan of Jitani Devi (P.W.1), wife of the deceased-Janki Yadav, recorded on 22/6/1996 at about 11:15 A.M. at Chhatterpur State Dispensary. In her fardbeyan, she alleged that in the night between 21st and 22/6/1986 the informant was sleeping in her house and her husband Janki Yadav was sleeping with his female child, Rita Kumari (P.W.2), aged 7 years on a cot outside the house. Besides the cot of her husband, Sukhdeo Yadav (P.W.4), Bihari Yadav (P.W.13) and Rambilash Yadav (P.W.11) were sleeping on a different cot. At about 01:00 A.M. in the night, she woke up on hearing a sound of gun fire. She noticed that the accused, Suryamukhi Yadav with a pistol in his hand and his farther, Faguni Yadav were running away to their own house in a disheveled state and her husband was tossing and crying in a pool of blood on the cot. She rushed to her husband crying loudly and found that he was having a bleeding fire-arm injury on the back of his head. Sukhdeo Yadav (P.W.4) and Bihari Yadav (P.W.13), who were sleeping by the side of the injured also woke up on the sound of firing and saw Suramukhi Yadav and Faguni Yadav running away. The informant alleged that prior to the occurrence a case was filed by the uncle-in-law of the informant Bandhu Yadav (P.W.5) against the two accused persons in which her husband Janki Yadav had appeared and deposed as a witness. This was the reason why the accused persons had issued threats to kill her husband a number of times. She further alleged that the exit of the house of the informant and Faguni Yadav, accused was the same and this also was a reason for frequent quarrel. It was asserted by the informant that on account of such reasons the accused persons taking opportunity of the dead of the night, together inflicted fire-arm injury with a country-made pistol upon her husband and caused him serious injury. Her husband was taken to the hospital in a serious condition where he was under treatment and also unconscious.