- (1.) THE appellants Ram Chandra, Anand, Kailash and Raju alias Raj Kumar have preferred this criminal ap peal against the judgment and order dated 4-11-1988/15-11-1988, passed by the I Additional Sessions Judge, Nainital, in Sessions Trial No. 116 of 1987 State Versus Ram Chandra and others, convicting the accused/appellants U/s 302/34 I. P. C. and sentencing each of them to undergo life imprison ment.
(2.) BRIEF facts of the case are that the accused/appellants Anand, Kailash and Raju @ Raj Kumar are the sons of accused/appellant Ram Chandra. One Om Prakash owned four acres of land in the Khadar of Kosi river in the rev enue estate of village Ramjiwanpur. Kaluwa (deceased) was cultivating this land on the consideration of division of yield with Om Prakash. The accused/ appellants took illegal possession over the said land. Kaluwa protested and the possession of the land was taken back from the accused/appellants. The ac cused/appellants were inimical towards. the deceased Kaluwa for the above rea son. As per the prosecution case on 13-10-1986 at about 9 P. M. Kaluwa was present near the railway crossing Chauraha within the revenue estate of Sultanpur, P. S. Bazpur. All the accused/ appellants went there and in further ance of their common intention they started beating Kaluwa with legs and fists. The blows were given on his chest, ribs and abdomen. Kaluwa raised alarm and the witnesses Chhida (P. W. 2), Badalu (P. W. 3) and Abdul Rashid intervened. Thereafter the ac cused/appellants ran away from the spot. Kaluwa fell down and became unconscious. Hearing the cries of Kaluwa, complainant Chhote (P. W. I) also reached there. He made arrange ment of a cot to take Kaluwa to hospi tal, but in the meantime Kaluwa died. Chhote got the written report (Ext. Ka. 1) scribed by one Mohd. Jan and lodged it at PS. Bazpur at 10. 35 RM. the same day, i. e. , 13-10-1986. Con stable Clerk Balwant Singh of P. S. Bazpur on the basis of the written re port, recorded the chick F. I. R. (Ext. Ka. 2) and registered a case against the accused/appellants U/s 304 I. PC. in the General Diary at Report No. 46, carbon copy of which is Ext. Ka. 3. The investigation of the case was taken up by S. I. Dinesh Chandra Singh Bhandari. He recorded the state ments of witnesses. On 14-10-1986 he inspected the spot and prepared site plan, Ext. Ka. 4. On his instructions S. I. Om Prakash prepared inquest report, Ext. Ka. 5, challan of dead body, Ext. Ka. 7, sketch map of dead body, Ext. Ka. 8, wrote letters, Ext. Ka. 6 and Ka. 10 to the Medical Officer requesting him to take the clothes of deceased in custody and to conduct the post mortem on the dead body of deceased Kaluwa. On 16-10-1986 the Investigat ing Officer arrested the accused/appel lants Anand, Ram Chandra and Kailash and made entry of this fact in the General Diary at report No. 27, carbon copy of the G. D. is Ext. Ka. 11. On 21-10-1986 the I. O. arrested accused/ap pellant Raju @ Raj Kumar and entry to that effect was made in the G. D. at re port No. 43, carbon copy of the G. D. is Ext. Ka. 12. On completion of inves tigation, the I. O. submitted charge sheet, Ext. Ka. 13 against the accused/ appellants. On committal of the accused persons to the court of Sessions, the Sessions Judge framed charge U/s 302/ 34 I. P. C. against the accused persons. They pleaded not guilty to the charge and claimed their trial.
(3.) IN support of the case, the pros ecution examined in all six witnesses. Out of those, P. W. 1 Chhote is the step brother of deceased Kaluwa. He is also complainant of the case. This witness has deposed that the deceasd Kaluwa had taken 4 acres land from Ram Parkash for cultivation near the bank of river Kosi and the accused/appellants were inimical to the deceased with re gard to the possession of this land. On the day of the occurrence the deceased had gone to railway crossing for a walk. When this witness heard noise at rail way crossing, he reached there. He saw that electric bulb was burning at the place of the occurrence and the ac cused/appellants were beating Kaluwa with kicks and fists. He also deposed that witnesses Chida and Badalu were already present at the spot and they were intervening and on his reaching there, the accused persons ran away from there. According to this witness Kaluwa had fallen on the ground in an unconscious state. He went to make ar rangement for a Cot and when re turned with cot at the spot, till that time Kaluwa had died. This witness also deposed that he left the dead body at the spot and got scribed the written report by one Mohd. Jan and handed over it at RS. Bazpur. This witness has proved the written report, Ext. Ka. 1. P. W. 2, Chida is the eyewitness of the occurrence. He has deposed that on the day of occurrence in the night at about 9 P. M. he was sitting at his shop near railway crossing. There was light of electric bulb. As and when Kaluwa reached at the Chauraha, in front of his shop, the accused Ram Chandra and his three sons also reached there and all of them started beating Kaluwa with kicks and fists. Kaluwa raised alarm and on hearing his alarm a number of people assembled there. Witness Badalu was already present there. According to him Chhote had also reached at the spot and on the challenge of Chhote, the accused per sons ran away from the place of the oc currence. This witness also stated that Kaluwa after the assault by the accused persons had fallen on the ground and became unconscious. Chhote had gone to arrange for a cot and when he re turned with the cot, till then Kaluwa had died.;