RAMBIR SINGH Vs. STATE OF TRIPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE 4 (four) appellants, all CRPF personnel, were convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34, IPC and under Section 323 read with Section 34, IPC and were sentenced to undergo life imprisonment with fine of Rs. 5,000/- only to be paid by each of them and in default to undergo one year imprisonment for the offence of murder and also sentenced to suffer 6 (six) months imprisonment for the offence of voluntarily causing hurt to the informant and also sentenced to suffer one year imprisonment for the offence of assault and for using criminal force upon the informant public servant while he was discharging official duties by judgment and order dated 20. 12. 2000 passed by Additional Sessions Judge, North Tripura, Dharmanagar in Sessions Trial 10 (NT/k) of 1998. Being dissatisfied with and aggrieved by the aforesaid judgment and order dated 20. 12. 2000 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, North Tripura, the appellants preferred an appeal before this Court which was numbered as Criminal Appeal No. 03/2001 at Agartala Bench. The said appeal was heard by a Division Bench and a judgment and order was passed on 31. 7. 2003 allowing the said appeal and setting aside the conviction and sentence of the accused/appellants and consequently acquitting the appellants of charges framed against them. The State of Tripura being aggrieved by the judgment and order dated 31. 7. 2003 aforesaid preferred an appeal before the Hn'ble Supreme Court which was registered as Criminal Appeal No. 927/2004. While hearing the aforesaid criminal appeal, the Hon'ble Supreme Court found that in the judgment dated 31. 7. 2003, the Division Bench of this Court allowed the Criminal Appeal No. 03/2001 earlier and the reason for judgment was recorded later. This according to Apex Court, was a very unsatisfactory way of disposing of the case. In paragraph 14 of the aforesaid judgment and order, the Apex Court observed as follows :-

(2.) WE have heard Mr. A. B. Choudhury, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Mr. J. P. Sharma, learned counsel for the appellants and Mr. A. Ghosh, learned Public Prosecutor for the State of Tripura. We have also perused the records made available before us.

(3.) THE story narrated by the prosecution in brief is that on 8. 7. 1996, some police personnel of Dharmanagar Police Station, led by Sub-Inspector of Police Shri Kamal Kar Choudhury, passed through the Town Hall of Dharmanagar on law and order duty. A cultural show was going on in the said Town Hall on 8. 7. 1996 and the police team was deployed on being approached by some organizer of the said cultural show. On being informed that some CRPF personnel without ticket had gate crashed and forcibly occupied some seats in the Hall, the S. I. of Police Shri K. K. Choudhury asked the CRPF personnel to vacate the seats. The CRPF personnel went away by abusing the said State Police in filthy language and threatening them with dire consequence. At 8. 30 p. m. , the CRPF personnel again came and occupied available seats/chairs without tickets and when the complainant Shri K. K. Choudhury asked them to vacate the chairs, the CRPF personnel punched upon them, as a result of which the complainant received serious injury on his left eye. Later the CRPF personnel left the Town Hall at about 9. 20 p. m. and again 9/10 jawans of the CRPF came out with their arms and ammunition and started indiscriminate firing on the police party. In the said firing, Head Constable Sukumar Ghose sustained bullet injury on his person and fell on the ground. The injured constable could not be removed because of the indiscriminate firing. In the meantime, the State Fire Service vehicle tried to come to the place of occurrence to remove the injured constable but the CRPF personnel prevented them. After sometime, the injured constable succumbed to his injury at the place of occurrence. The CRPF personnel also went to the police station in search of informant S. I. of Police Shri K. K. Choudhury to kill him. An FIR was lodged with the Dharmanagar Police Station on 8. 7. 1996 at 23. 30 hrs. by S. I. of Police Shri K. K. Choudhury in connection with the above incident and a case being Dharmanagar P. S. Case No. 63/1996 under Sections 302/307/37, IPC was registered. In the course of investigation, the police recorded the statement of witnesses, seized alamath and also arrested the accused/appellants. On completion of investigation, the police laid charge-sheet against the accused/appellants under Sections 353, 307, 302 and 341 read with Section 34, IPC and also under Section 27 of the Arms Act.