B. SUDARSHAN REDDY, J. - (1.) THIS appeal by special leave is directed against the Judgment and Order dated 14th July, 2003 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Criminal Appeal No. 2405 of 2002 by which the conviction of the appellants under Sections 148, 302 read with Section 149, Section 307 read with Section 149, Sections 452 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) recorded by the Sessions Court in Sessions Trial No. 184 of 1995 is upheld except in case of appellant Sharda Singh whose conviction recorded under Section 148, IPC is altered to one under Section 147, IPC whereas punishment of death sentence imposed on the appellants Moti Lal, Surendra Singh, Virendra Singh, Amar Singh and Dhunnan Singh is reduced to one of rigorous imprisonment for life but other punishments imposed on all the appellants for commission of offences punishable under Sections 302 read with Section 149, Section 307 read with Section 149, Sections 452 and 427 are upheld.
(2.) THE facts leading to the present appeal are that on the night intervening 24th/ 25th June, 1994 at about 1.45 a.m., one Motilal, Surendra Singh, Virendra Singh, Sharda Singh, Miyadi @ Ram Miyadi Singh, Dhunnan Singh, Amar Singh (all are appellants herein) along with Anil Singh (not approached this Court) and Thagai Singh (died during trial) armed with deadly weapons entered the house of one Sita Ram Singh and attacked him and other family members, resulting instantaneous death of Sita Ram Singh and his two sons namely Surinder Singh and Jai Govind and also injuries to the other family members of Sita Ram Singh. THE assailants had also set fire to a motorcycle parked in the house of the deceased Sita Ram Singh. In the attack, the appellants used country made pistols (katta), gun, bomb, iron rod (ramma), pharsa fitted lathi etc. THE cause of attack is due to rivalry between the family of deceased Sita Ram Singh and the attacking party over a piece of farm land in respect of which some cases were pending in the Civil Courts. Smt. Manju Singh (PW5) is the wife of the deceased Sita Ram Singh who also sustained the injuries in the said attack. She is the informant who rushed to the police station Hata on the same night and got prepared report (Ex. Ka-1) based on which the First Information Report (Ex. Ka-43) was issued at about 2.40 am for the offences punishable under Sections 147, 148, 149, 302, 307 and 427, IPC against nine persons including the appellants herein. The injured were immediately sent to Primary Health Center, Hata where they were medically examined by Dr. Ghan Shyam Singh (PW8) between 5.30 and 6.30 a.m. Mr. Umesh Chandra Misra, Investigating Officer (PW9) visited the place of occurrence and found the dead bodies of Sita Ram Singh, Surendra Singh and Jai Govind. He seized the remnants of the burnt motorcycle (Ext. Ka-37), the blood stained ramma (iron rod with an edge on one end), empty cartridges, wads and pellets from the spot (Ext. Ka-34 and Ka-35) and prepared a site map, recorded statements of the injured and others who were found to be conversant with the incident, made inquest report (Ext. Ka-13, Ka-14 and Ka-15) and sent the dead bodies for post-mortem. On the same day, he arrested Sharda Singh, Anil Singh, Virendra Singh, Thagai Singh (died during trial) and Surendra Singh and also recovered one licensed gun (Ext. Ka-38) from the house of one Toofani Singh who was found murdered before half an hour of the present occurrence. Dr. K. Singh (PW7) conducted post-mortem on 26th June, 1994, found ante mortem injuries on the persons of deceased and opined the cause of death as "shock and haemorrhage". The post-mortem reports are Exts. Ka-2, Ka-3 and Ka-4. The Doctor's opinion and the details of ante mortem injuries on the persons of the deceased need not be referred in detail as they have been noticed by the Courts below. On completion of investigation, the I.O. submitted charge-sheet against Motilal, Surendra Singh, Virendra Singh, Dhunnan Singh, Miyadi Singh and Anil Singh for commission of offences punishable under Sections 148, 302 and 307 read with 149, 452 and 427 IPC whereas Sharda Singh, Amar Singh and Thagai Singh were charged with the offences punishable under Sections 147, 302 and 307 read with Section 149, 452 and 427, IPC.
(3.) COGNIZANCE of the offences was taken by the Magistrate who committed the case to the Court of Sessions vide Sessions Trial No. 184 of 1995. The appellants pleaded not guilty and preferred trial. The learned Sessions Judge, upon appreciation of evidence and material available on record, found that the prosecution has successfully established its case and accordingly found the appellants guilty of various offences and sentenced them vide judgment dated 11th June, 2002. The details of the conviction and sentence awarded are as under: The learned Sessions Judge ordered the sentence to run concurrently and further referred the matter to the High Court for confirmation of death penalty as is required under Section 366 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. All the convicts jointly preferred Criminal Appeal No. 2405 of 2002 before the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad challenging their conviction under different provisions of I.P.C. and imposition of sentences.;