- (1.) Sole surviving appellant Surendra Singh has assailed the impugned judgment and order dated 31.5.1983 passed in Sessions Trial No. 90 of 1982 (State Vs Surendra Singh and three others) by 4th Addl. Sessions Judge, Varanasi whereby the appellants Surendra Singh, Raj Bahadur Singh @ Raju, Gajendra Narain Singh @ Gajju and Vikrama Singh @ Vikramaditya Singh were convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 of Indian Penal Code (in short IPC) and sentenced to undergo life imprisonment.
(2.) This appeal was initially filed by four appellants but appellants Raj Bahadur Singh @ Raju, Gajendra Narain Singh @ Gajju and Vikrama Singh @ Vikramaditya Singh have died during the pendency of the present appeal and hence their appeal stand abated vide order order dated 2.11.2015. This court is now concerned only with the appeal of surviving appellant Surendra Singh.
(3.) The facts giving rise to this appeal are that on 15.9.1981 at about 8 a.m. the deceased Ram Nayan Singh was sitting at a tea stall situated at bus stand of Village Rajwari with Lal Bahadur Singh (P.W.-2) and Keshav Singh (P.W-4). Suddenly, accused persons namely Late Raj Bahadur Singh @ Raju, Late Gajendra Narain Singh @ Gajju and Late Vikrama Singh @ Vikramaditya Singh and the surviving appellant Surendra Singh arrived there. All of them were armed with firearm weapons. Late Vikrama Singh @ Vikramaditya Singh, father of remaining three accused urged his sons to assassinate deceased Ram Nayan Singh. First, accused late Raj Bahadur Singh fired a shot upon the deceased Ram Nayan Singh. Deceased tried to escape towards a hut located behind the tea stall whereupon the appellant Surendra Singh and his companions Late Raj Bahadur Singh @ Raju and Late Gajendrda Narain Singh @ Gajju opened fire on Ram Nayan Singh who sustained injuries on his back. Informant Ramji Singh (P.W.-1), Banshidhar and several other persons arrived on the spot on observing the pandemonium at the place of occurrence. They claimed to have witnessed the incident along with P.W.-2 Lal Bahadur Singh and P.W.-4 Keshav Singh. These witnesses tried to catch the assailants but they boarded the scooter and Bullet motorcycle and fled towards northern side. Informant found his brother dead and thereafter went to the police station (in short P.S.) to lodge the First Information Report (in short the FIR) immediately.;