O. P. Mehrotra, J. - (1.) THIS appeal has been filed by Rajwa, his sons Sauniya and three other persons viz. Gaya Prasad, his brother Siya Ram and one Mangi against the judgment dated 31-10-77 passed by Additional Sessions Judge, Fatehpur Appellants Rajwa and Sauniya who are said to have been armed with Kulharis have been convicted under Section 148 IPC and sentenced to undergo RI for two years each, while the remaining three accused, who are said to have been armed with Lathis have been convicted under Section 147 IPC and sentenced to RI for two years each. All the appellants have further been convicted under Section 302/149 IPC and sentenced to imprisonment for life.
(2.) DECEASED Smt.Maharajiya aged about 65 years was the widow of Girdhari Kewat of village Rustampur alias Natthipur, P. S. Chandpur of District Fatehpur. Informant Dulua PW 1 used to live with her and look after her cultivation for the last about 10-15 years. Appellant Rajwa is the nephew of Smt. Maharajiya while appellant Sauniya is the son of Rajwa. Girdhari died about 2 or 3 years prior to this murder. After his death, there was some litigation regarding land between Smt. Maharajiya on the one hand and her nephews Rajwa (appellant) and Jalia on the other. The said litigation was decided in favour of the deceased. It is alleged that Rajwa and others were inimical towards the deceased on account of the fact that the said litigation ended in her favour. This occurrence is said to have taken place on 26-2-75 at about 11 a.m. The first information report was lodged by Dulua PW 1 at Police Station Chandpur, which was about 6 miles from the spot, on the same day at 4 p.m. It was alleged that at about 11 a.m., when the informant and the deceased were going towards the field in the east of the village and had reached near the Nala, all the aroused persons came out from the Nala armed with Kulharis and Lathis and started assaulting Smt.Maharajiya after surrounding her. Rajwa and Sauniya were armed with Kulharis while Gaya Prasad, Siya Ram and Mangi had lathis. On their alarm, witnesses Shiv Balak Singh PW 3 and Badri Singh PW 4 who were taking Hariyali (green fodder) from the fields, arrived there. On the arrival of the witnesses, the accused persons escaped towards south. The witnesses found that Smt. Maharajiya had sustained Kulhari injuries on her neck and head and her righ hand was fractured. She succumbed to her injuries on the spot. A case under Sections 147, 148, 302/149 IPC was registered and investigation was taken up by S. O. Shifla Prasad, who inspected the spot, prepared the site-plan Ex Ka 5 and interrogated the witnesses. Autopsy on the dead body was performed by Dr. S. K. Gupta PW 2 on 1-3-75 at 10.45 a.m The deceased was aged about 65 years and had died about 3 days back. He found the following ante-mortem injuries on the deadbody : 1. An incised wound 6 1/2" x 3" x bone Out in the middle part of the mouth running obliquely on the right side upto the neck 1 1/2" below the right ear, tongue, mandible on the right side. Muscles and arteries under neath the injury were cut. Margins were clean and inverted and clotted blood was present. 2. Incised wound 3" x 1/2" hone cut on the middle of right side of the cheek 1" away from the mouth upto 1" below the right ear. Margins were clean and inverted. Clotted blood was present. Muscles, arteries and maxilla bone was cut. 3. An incised wound 2" x 1/2" x bone deep on the front of the middle of the lower part of the neck 2" above the sternum Margins were dean and inverted. Clotted blood was present. Trachea oesophagus under neath were cut. Contents of the stomach were coming out from wound. 4. Incised wound 2" x 1" bone cut on the left side of front of the upper part of chest over the clavicle bone. Bone underneath the injury was cut. Margins were clean and inverted. Clotted blood was present. 5. Incised wound 2" x 1/4" x muscle deep on the parietal bone 1 1/2" above the left ear. 6. Contusion 2" x 1 1/2" on the lower part of the right forearm 2" above the right wrist. Both bone radius and ulna were fractured underneath. The tongue was found cut into two pieces in middle. The stomach was empty. Small intestines were also empty. Large intestines were full of faecal matter and gases. Bladder was also empty. The death was due to shock ana haemorrhage ; as a result of the above injuries (vide Ex Ka 2).
(3.) IN support of its case, the prosecution examined three eye witnesses. PW 1 Dulua was the informant of this case. PW 3 Shiv Balak Singh and PW 4 Badri Singh were eye-witnesses who were cutting green fodder in their fields and had arrived at the spot on hearing the alarm. All these witnesses fully supported the prosecution case in all other respects, except that they stated that accused Rajwa and Sauniya alone had assaulted the deceased with Kulharis and that other three accused viz. Gaya Prasad, Siya Ram and Mangi were merely standing with lathis in their hands but did not assault her. All the accused persons pleaded not guilty and stated that they had been falsely implicated. Their suggestion was that Smt.Maharajiya might have been murdered by some persons in the darkness of the night on early hours of the morning and that they had been falsely implicated due to enmity or suspicion. Their case was that Smt. Maharajiya was not legally wedded wife of Girdhari and that his legally wedded wife was Smt.Nibia, from whom he had a daughter named Ranchi alias Parmia, who had applied for mutation of her name and the said mutation application was opposed by Smt.Maharajiya. The defence suggestion was that Dulua PW 1 and Shiv Balak Singh PW 3 used to help Smt. aharajiya in that litigation, It was also suggested that informant Dulua was married to one Kumhariya whom accused Mangi had kidnapped about 7 years back and she had filed an application dated 30-3-70 (Ex Kha 1) before the District Magistrate, Hamirpur stating that both of them were living as husband and wife and that the police should not harass them. It was suggested that Dulua bore grudge against accused Mangi on this count and had falsely implicated him. Accused persons examined Janki Prasad DW 1 in support of their defence.;