SOBARATI ANSARI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Nobody appeared on behalf of the appellant Nathuni Thakur in Criminal Appeal (SJ) No. 164 of 2000 Accordingly, Mr. Rashid Alam, Advocate is appointed as amicus curiae to assist this Court on behalf of the appellant Nathuni Thakur in Criminal Appeal (SJ) No. 164 of 2000.

(2.) These two Appeals arise out of a common judgment by which all the four appellants have been found guilty for the offences under Section 365/34 of the Indian Penal Code and have been directed to undergo R.I. for five years. They have also been found guilty under Section 366/34 of the Indian Penal Code and have been sentenced to undergo R.I. for eight years by the 5th Additional Sessions Judge, East Champaran at Motihari in Sessions Trial No. 571 of 1996.

(3.) The appellant, Sobarajti Ansari is the father of Abdul Ansari, who has supposedly run away with Ruby Roshan @ Labasaniya whereas Amanullah Ansari and Nathuni Thakur are friends and co- villagers of Abdul Ansari. The appellant Abdul Ansari has remained in custody for about three years and nine months in this case. The informant of the case is PW 8 Sheikh Zaheer, who is the uncle (Chacha) of the victim girl. He alleges in his fardbeyan that the victim girl had gone to attend the call of nature on 01.06.1996 at about 5.00 a.m. in the morning at Banthanka which is about a half kilometer from her house. It is said that he learnt from PW 1 Md. Khurshid Alam, Sheikh IZahar PW 2 and Sheikh Abdul Lais PW 3 that the appellants of Criminal appeal No. 162 of 2000 were seen at the place of occurrence. They had surrounded the victim girl. When the victim girl did not return home, the informant took steps to recover her, he went to the house of Sobarati Ansari (appellant) who promised that the victim girl will be returned within a few days. However, when the informant went to visit him for the second time, Sobarati Ansari (appellant) said that it was not possible for him to return the girl and, as such, he lodged the case on 30.06.1996.