BACHAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BOTH the appeals are directed against the judgment dated 14.9.1990 passed by the 6th Addl. Sessions Judge, Arrah in S.Tr.No. 261/1989, whereby and whereunder all the three appellants, namely, Bachan Singh, Brijnandan Singh and Nepali Singh have been convicted for offence under section 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code and have been sentenced to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for life.

(2.) SHORN of all niceties, the prosecution case in brief arising out of Agiaon Bazar P.S.Case No. 35/1988 instituted on the basis of fardbeyan of P.W.7 Dashrath Singh at his village home at 7.30 A.M. on 16.9.1988 is that in the preceding night of 15/16.9.1988 while his father Kapil Singh alongwith his shepherd (Charwaha) Lalmohar Chaudhary were sleeping in Goshala on separate cots he (informant) sleeping in his own Goshala had heard the wailing and crying sound of his father as also of the aforesaid Charwaha and thereafter he holding a torch in his hand had gone to the Goshala where his father was sleeping and in the torch light he had seen that while the appellant Bachan Singh was holding the head of his father, appellant Brijnandan Singh was holding the legs of his father and appellant Nepali Singh was cutting the neck of his father. He has further stated that the two other unknown and un-named persons had caught hold of his Charwaha. namely, Lalmohar Chaudhary and the other two persons were also standing whom he could not identify. The informant has further stated that the three identified persons by him, namely, the appellants were all belonging to village Kataria, the village of the informant and when they had shouted for also catching hold of the informant, he with a view to save himself had ran towards the western side and started raising hulla that his father was being killed on which Suresh Singh (P.W.4), Mahesh Singh (not examined), Dinanath Singh (not examined) and Rajendra Singh (P.W.3) had reached at the place of occurrence and had seen his father dead lying in pool of blood while the aforementioned Charwaha also crying and weeping. According to the informant his uncle Surendar Singh (P.W.5) and Sudarshan Singh (P.W.6) had also seen all the three accused running away while they were on the roof of their residential house situated in west to Goshala in the light of torch held by them. The motive for this occurrence as per the informant given in his fardbeyan is that a litigation of consolidation case was in progress in which an enquiry was to be held by the Deputy Director of Consolidation on 17.9.1988 and the appellants had threatened that on the date of enquiry anyone going on the disputed land will be done to death.

(3.) THE defence has neither examined any witness nor has led any documentary evidence but from the trend of cross- examination of the witnesses as also statement of the appellants under section 313 Cr.P.C. it would be visible that they had taken the plea of innocence as also false implication while denying the occurrence in the manner alleged by the prosecution.