- (1.)Both the appeals have been preferred against the judgment and final order dated 23.1.2009 passed by the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi in Criminal Appeal No.932 of 2004.
(2.)The appellants in Criminal Appeal No.1022 of 2009 Smt. Ashi Devi, Smt. Munni Devi and Smt. Sheela @ Lali were accused nos.4, 8 and 10 respectively and the appellants in Criminal Appeal No.1023 of 2009 Uday Ram, Om Prakash, Kishan and Kishori were accused nos.2, 5, 6 and 9 respectively in the Sessions case in SC No.54 of 2001 on the file of Additional Sessions Judge, New Delhi. The appellants along with three others were tried for the charges under Sections 147/395/448 read with Section 149 IPC and the Trial Court found them guilty of the offence under Section 379 read with Section 34 IPC and Section 448 read with Section 34 IPC and convicted and sentenced them each to undergo 1 year rigorous imprisonment for the offence under Section 448 IPC and to pay a fine of Rs.1000/- each, in default to undergo simple imprisonment for 3 months and further sentenced each of them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 3 years for the offence under Section 379 IPC and to pay a fine of Rs.25000/- each, in default to undergo simple imprisonment for 1 year and directed the sentence to run concurrently. Challenging the conviction and sentence seven accused preferred appeal in Criminal Appeal No.932 of 2004 and the High Court dismissed the appeal by confirming the conviction and sentence passed by the Trial Court. Aggrieved by the same they have preferred the present appeals.
(3.)The prosecution case in brief is that PW11 Smt. Prakash Kaur and her son PW9 Jagjit Singh were running crockery shops in premises nos. T-56 and T-57 Takriwalan, till two months prior to the riots of 1984 and the accused persons were residing in the neighbourhood of the said shops and after the riots they were informed that their shops had been looted and some persons are occupying the same and on 20.11.1984 PW11 Smt. Prakash Kaur visited the shop and found goods looted and the accused persons in possession of the shops and despite her persistent complaints police did not register any case and when Jain Aggarwal Committee was constituted they filed affidavits about the incident and on its direction a F.I.R. was registered against accused persons in January 1993 and charge sheet came to be filed. The Trial Court found the accused guilty of the offences and convicted and sentenced them as narrated above and the appeal preferred came to be dismissed and challenging the same the present appeals have been filed.