Bhargava, J. - (1.) These three appeals all arise out of a trial held by the Additional Sessions Judge of Patna in respect of a charge of murder of an old lady Rohini Kuer, wife of Munshi Chaudhary, residing in village Lohra, Police Station Bakhtiarpur, District Patna. The prosecution case was that, on the night between 17th and 18th June, 1961, Rohini Kuer, who was aged about 60 years, was sleeping on a cot in the courtyard of her house and, nearby on a smaller cot was sleeping her niece, Manti who was about 11 years of age. Munshi Chaudhary himself, his sons and daughters-in-law were at Ranchi where one of his sons had been posted as a Block Development Officer, During the night, Rohini Kuer had closed all the doors and had put a lock from inside on the connecting door between the female apartment and the male apartment of the house. Some time during the night, three miscreants entered the female apartment by cutting a hole in the wall on the western side of the connecting door and began to ransack different rooms of the house. Rohini Kuer woke up on hearing the sounds, while the miscreants were breaking open the boxes and removing the Articles. She got up from her bed, accosted the thieves and also called out to Manti. Two of those persons rushed at her, threw her down on the verandah and inflicted several injuries on her body. One of them brought out a sword which was kept in the southern room adjacent to the verandah and cut her neck in the light of the electric torch which had been lighted by the third person. Thereafter, they took away cash, clothes and ornaments having broken open several boxes. They also took away an iron safe. Manti pretended to be asleep and did not cry out due to fear. At one stage, one of the thieves suggested that she should also be killed, but another one intervened and suggested that it was unnecessary to commit her murder. Manti continued lying on her cot till dawn when the came out of the house through the hole which had been cut by the thieves and started weeping. While She was in the Baithak of Munshi Chaudhary, one Bhagwat Prasad, who was passing by, enquired what the matter was, She told him that Daiya had been cut. 'Daiya' was the term by which she used to address Rohini Kuer who war her father's sitter. Bhagwat Prasad then entered the female apartment through the same hole and found the dead body of Rohini Kuer lying in the verandah, As he came out after seeing the dead body, Ramkishun Chukidar also arrived. Both of them then went to Hamaut Police outpost four miles away where Bhagwat Prasad lodged a First Information Report which was recorded by Assistant Sub-Inspector Jagdish Singh at about 8 A.M. the date being 18th June, 1961. He sent a copy of the Report to Bhaktiarpur Police Station for institution of a case and himself proceeded to the scene of occurrence at 10.30 A. M. It is said that, in the meantime, Manti's mother had arrived and she told Manti not to disclose the names of the offenders lest she should also be killed Jagdish Singh, A.S. I,, inspected the place of occurrence, notice the hole that had been cut in the wall and actually went inside through the same opening. He found the dead body lying in the verandah and also noticed some footprints on the floor near the dead body. A bloodstained sword kept in a sheath was also found by him in a room adjacent to the verandah where he also found another footprint in bloodstains. He prepared the inquest report and sent the dead body of Rohini Kuer for postmortem examination. The investigation was then taken over by Inspector of Police, Lakshmi Narain Pathak, who took statements of various witnesses. According to him, though he was able to record a detailed statement of Manti covering about two pages, Manti refused to disclose the names of the culprits and started weeping when she was asked to give out the names. He sent a requisition to Patna for a police dog and a photographer. Three days later, on 21st June, the police dog and the photographer arrived in village Lohra, and the Investigating Officer, Pathak, on reaching the spot let loose the dog. The dog went to the house of Ramujagar appellant and entered a room from which one Dasuti Chadar and one quilt stained with blood were seized by the Investigating Officer Pathak. Thereafter, the dog went to the house of Kapil Singh who, in the meantime, had left his house on seeing the police arriving. He was, however, arrested by the Dafadar. Subsequently, the dog led the police to the house of Deo Singh and is brother Singheshwar where, on a search having been made, a pair of gold ear-tops were recovered from a niche situated in a room facing east. The ear-tops were kept in a cardboard case which bore the inscription"Malti Singh, Women's College Ranchi, P. N. U. N. C. H. 2". In the inner cover of the case "M. Singh" had been written in English and the names of the dealers were also printed on it. The gold eartops and its covering box were seized by the investigating officer. On 22nd June, 1961, Jagdish Singh, A. S. I., Harnaut Police outpost, on searching a well situated about three quarters of a mile away from village Lohra, recovered a Godrej Iron Safe which was taken out and was found to contain articles including Insurance Policies in the name of Nandkishore Singh son of Munshi Chaudhary.
(2.) The girl Manti was taken to the Police Station by the Investigating Officer on the 19th June, 1961, apparently because she had failed to disclose the names of the thieves whom she had seen inside the house and who had committed the murder of Rohini Kuer in her presence. Manti was kept at the Police Station and was repeatedly questioned. According to the Investigating Officer, Lakshmi Narain Pathak, she was allowed to visit her sister's place in between, but she was always provided with a police escort. At about midnight on the night between list and 22nd June, 1961, she is alleged to have disclosed the names of the three culprits. The names that she gave were those of Kapil Singh alias Kapildeo Singh, Ramujagar Singh and Deo Singh alias Surajdeo Singh. She then amplified the statement by stating that it was Kapil Singh who had actually cut the neck of Rohini Kuer and that Ramujagar Singh and Kapil Singh were the two persons who had attacked her. Deo Singh, according to her, was the person who was flashing the torch to give light to his two companions. She added that Deo Singh had said that she also should be killed, whereupon Kapil Singh said that she was a child and they should leave her.
(3.) Subsequently, on 28th June, 1961, Manti and her mother were both produced before a Magistrate who recorded their statements under Section 164. Criminal Procedure Code. Manti was allowed to go home after this statement of hers had been recorded by the Magistrate. Samples of the footprints of the three suspects were compared with the footprints in blood found at the scene of occurrence by the police Expert on Footprints an evidence was sought to be given by him to prove that one of the footprints tallied with the footprint of Deo Singh.;