SURESH KUMAR MAHTON Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE four appeals have been filed by persons who have been convicted by the Additional Sessions Judge II, Darbhanga in Sessions Trial No 59 of 1989. by judgment of conviction and sentence dated 09.01.1991 holding appellant Suresh Kumar Mahton guilty under Section 366A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the rest guilty under Sections 376, 302/34 and 201 of IPC. For offence under Section 366A of IPC, appellant Suresh Kumar Mahton has been sentenced to ten years rigorous imprisonment and the rest have been sentenced to life imprisonment. It may be noted here that Yogendra Rai @ Jogendra Rai has filed two appeals being Cr Appeals No 72 and 84 of 1991. One appeal having been admitted and he having been released on bail, the other appeal was received later from jail custody.

(2.) BEFORE proceeding further, we may note one fact. In the first information report (FIR) which is based upon the written report of the informant Kashi Nandan Singh (PW 4), the father of the deceased girl, suspicion has been cast on five persons with regard to disappearance of his daughter. They were appellants, Yogendra Rai, Suresh Kumar Mahton and three others, namely, Abhay Kumar Mahto, Ashok and Amar Kumar Rai. After investigation, police filed chargesheet against Suresh Kumar Mahton, Yogendra Rai and three others, namely, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Satya Narain Rai and Prabhu Narain Jha while dropping the case against the three who were named in the FIR as above. The trial proceeded against these five persons out of whom Vijay Kumar Sinha and Satya Narain Rai were acquitted. The trial Court found appellant Suresh Kumar Mahton guilty under Section 366A of IPC alone whereas appellant Yogendra Rai @ Jogendra Rai and Prabhu Narain Jha were found guilty under Sections 302/34 and other sections of IPC and sentenced accordingly.

(3.) THE prosecution case is based upon the written statement given by the informant (PW 4) Kashi Nandan Singh, the father of the deceased girl Jaya Kumari to the Darbhanga Town Police Station at about 10.30 am on 18.11.1988, inter alia, alleging that his daughter Jaya Kumari aged about 15. years had gone to a nearby Radha Krishna Temple at about 5.30 pm on 17.11.1988 to light a sacred lamp (Diya). When she did not return till 7.30 pm, he alongwith others started making enquiry searching her but could not find her. Next morning, in course of enquiry, he came to know that appellant Suresh Kumar Mahton was last seen with her in the evening in the temple. He also came to know that Yogendra Rai, Ashok and Amar Kumar Rai were friends and were missing from their rooms and, as such, all the persons may be involved in the disappearance of his daughter. Police, upon this information given, in the morning of 18th of November 1988, registered the case against the aforesaid five persons under Sections 363, 366 of IPC and started investigation. On 20th of November 1988, police got an information that a highly decomposed dead body of a young girl was found floating in the Bagmati river. The body was identified by the informant (PW 4) as his daughter. An inquest was then prepared and the body was sent for post mortem. After investigation, chargesheet was filed against five persons that is Suresh Kumar Mahton, Yogendra Rai @ Jogendra Rai, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Satya Narain Rai and Prabhu Narain Jha. The latter three were not named in the FIR but the three persons named in the FIR, namely Abhay Kumar Mahto, Ashok and Amar Kumar Rai were not sent up for trial. Cognizance having been taken, the case has been committed to the Court of Sessions and charges were, accordingly, framed against the five persons. Suresh Kumar Mahton, with whom the deceased was allegedly last seen, was charged under Section 366A of IPC whereas the rest were charged under Sections 376, 302/34 and 201 of IPC.