- (1.) All the above three appeals are directed against the judgment of the Allahabad High court dated 9/04/1979 rendered in Criminal Appeal No. 234 of 1979 connected with Criminal Appeal No. 210 of 1979 whereby the High court has acquitted all the respondents/accused by setting aside the judgment of the trial court passed in Sessions Trial No. 82 of 1976 convicting all the 12 respondents under S. 147, 148 and 302, 307, 323 and 324 - all read with S. 149 of the Indian Penal Code and sentencing the respondents Raj Kumar and Raghuvir Singh to death subject to the confirmation by the High court as contemplated under S. 363 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and sentencing each of the remaining respondents to life imprisonment and also to varied terms of imprisonment for other offences with the direction that the sentences imposed on Raj Kumar and Raghuvir Singh should merge with the capital sentence and the sentences imposed on others to run concurrently. The Criminal Appeal No. 703 of 1979 is preferred by the complainant Biri Singh whilst Criminal Appeal Nos. 704 and 705 of 1979 are preferred by the State of U. P. Since all the three appeals arise out of the common judgment, we pass the following common judgment.
(2.) These respondents (accused) took their trial on the allegations that on 23/08/1971 in the jungle of village Badarkha Sirbas within the limits of Pahasu Police Station in Bulandshahr District they allformed themselves into an unlawful assembly and in the prosecution of the common object of the said assembly, respondents Raj Kumar and Raghuvir Singh committed the murder of Bahori, Tehsil Singh and Kallu Singh by shooting at them with their guns and also committed various offences as indicated above.
(3.) We would like to refer to the respondents/accused in our judgment as serially arrayed in the Criminal Appeal Nos. 704 and 705 of 1979, preferred by the State. Of the respondents, Raj Kumar and Ajab Siagh (i. e. Respondents 1 and 8) are first cousins. Respondent, Ramesh (Respondent 2) is the son of Raj Kumar (Respondent 1). Respondents Rameshwar, Raghuraj, Raghuvir, Raghunandan and Ram Saran (Respondents 3 to 7) are brothers. Respondents Babu and Pan Singh (Respondents 9 and 10) are brothers. Respondents Bani Singh and Karrey Singh (Respondents II and 12) are brothers. It is said that all the respondents belong to one group. The brief facts of the case unfolded from the evidence can be summarised thus:;