- (1.) This criminal appeal calls in question the judgment and order dated 15th December, 1982 passed by the IXth Additional Sessions Judge, Agra in Sessions Trial No. 636 of 1980 (State Vs. Ranvir Singh and others) arising out of Case Crime No.118 of 1980, under Sections 147, 148, 302 IPC, P.S.-Pinhat, District Agra, whereby the appellants/accused Pritam and Sultan have been convicted under Sections 148 and 302 IPC read with Section 149 IPC and have been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life for having committed murder of Sarnam Singh punishable under Section 302 IPC read with Section 149 IPC and to rigorous imprisonment of two years for having committed rioting punishable under Section 148 IPC. By the same judgment appellants/ accused Ranvir Singh, Ativir and Bhoori Singh have been convicted for the offences under Section 147 and Section 302 IPC read with Section 149 IPC and have been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life under Section 302 IPC read with Section 149 IPC and to rigorous imprisonment of one year under Section 147 IPC. All the sentences have been ordered to run concurrently.
(2.) The deceased Sarnam Singh and informant Umrao Singh are real brothers and residents of village Theekura, hamlet of Nagla Mahamai, P.S.-Fatehabad, District Agra. All the appellants-accused are also residents of the same village.
(3.) The brief facts leading to prosecution of the appellants are as follows: On 17.05.1980 at about 6 p.m., when the deceased Sarnam Singh was returning to his village from Agra after Pairvi of some case and reached the path-way in between the fields of Matadin and Balvir Singh within village Theekura all the accused surrounded him. Accused Pritam and Sultan were equipped with 'pharsas' and the remaining accused namely Ranvir, Ativir and Bhoori Singh with 'lathies' in their hands. They lashed out at the deceased Sarnam Singh that he had beaten their buffalo-she-calf and that they would teach him a lesson. Thereafter, all the five accused assaulted Sarnam Singh with their weapons and caused multiple injuries on his person. On an alarm raised by the deceased Sarnam Singh, PW 4 Umrao Singh, PW 5 Kalyan Singh along with Brijendra Singh, Shiv Singh and other villagers reached the spot and challenged the accused. Thereafter, the accused fled away from the scene of occurrence threatening that they would see the deceased again, if he survived by chance.;