MUNNA KUMAR LOHANI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appeal has been preferred by the two appellants who were put on trial in Sessions Case No. 295 of 1997 by the learned Presiding Officer, Additional Court (Fast Track Court), Munger after being charged with committing offence under Sections 304 Part-I and 323 of the Indian Penal Code with another accused Malti Devi. By the judgment dated 04.06.2002 the two appellants were found guilty only of committing offence under Section 304 Part-I of the Indian Penal Code and after being heard on sentence on 05.06.2002 each of them was directed to suffer rigorous imprisonment for a period of seven years. As regards the other accused Malti Devi who was facing trial with the two appellants, she was acquitted of the charges. The appellants were also acquitted of charge under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) In the background of admitted dispute and enmity for a wall which appears erected by using mud to fix the bricks, the allegation was that there had been some dispute between the parties for throwing the house hold discards in the land which was passing by the side of the wall. On 25.02.1996 also the wife of one of the accused persons, i.e., third accused Malti Devi had again thrown the house hold discards in the lane which was objected to by Ganga Devi, the wife of the informant P.W. 12 Vijay Kumar. An altercation ensued between the two ladies when these two appellants also intervened and as soon as the exchange of words turned from mild to hot, the two retreated back to their houses uttering that the lady required to be killed.

(3.) It is alleged that they came back again and after telling him that the lady has to be killed, pushed the brick wall towards the side of the deceased Ganga Devi who came under it as soon as the wall collapsed. There was a hue and cry and people came around, removed the debris and brought out Ganga Devi who had sustained certain injuries on her person. Allegation was that the three little sons of the informant, namely Kumar Gautam (P.W. 6), Kunal Gautam (P.W. 7) and Bibhakar Gautam (P.W. 8) who were somewhere around 8 to 6 years of age on the day of occurrence also received injuries due to the fall of the wall. The lady was rushed to the hospital along with her three little sons and it appears that she died there and it appears that inquest proceedings were held and the inquest report Ext. 3 was prepared by P.W. 14, Sub-Inspector, Indrasan Prasad, who had taken up the investigation of the case. The post-mortem examination report suggested as appears from the document Ext. 5 as also from the evidence of P.W. 13 Dr. Krishna Mohan Purbey, that the deceased had as many as six injuries on her person. The evidence of P.W. 13 indicates that those six injuries were ante mortem in nature, which were as follows: