- (1.) H. L. Gokhale, C. J. This criminal appeal seeks to challenge the judgment and order dated 31st of May, 1982, rendered by the Vth Additional District & Sessions Judge, Bareilly, in Sessions Trial No. 279 of 1981. The appellants have been convicted for the murder of one Chandra Sen under section 302 read with section 34 of I. P. C. as well as for destroying the evidence under section 201 of I. P. C. The learned Sessions Judge has sentenced them for an imprisonment for life for the offences established under section 302/34 of I. P. C. and four years R. I. for an offence punishable under section 201 of I. P. C. The case of the prosecution, as disclosed in the FIR registered by the brother of the deceased, i. e. , one Nathu Lal, is principally as follows.
(2.) THE wife of the deceased Chandra Sen one Sukhdei was supposed to be a lady of not good character and appellants No. 1 and 2 were stated to have illicit relation with her. In fact, some six months before, it was seen that appellant No. 1 had entered the house of Chandra Sen in the night and was seen running from there. THEreafter a village Panchayat was organised, where he pleaded guilty, therefore, the complaint was not registered, but appellant No. 1 and the second appellant had threatened the deceased that when the opportunity will be available, they will kill him. The FIR records that on 6th of April, 1981, the complainant Nathu Lal along with his brother were going to their agricultural field at about 4:00 A. M. in the early morning. The deceased was walking ahead and the complainant was following him at some distance. The complainant was carrying a torch and the deceased was carrying a plough. As soon as they reached a road adjoining the field of the deceased, the three appellants who were hidden in an adjoining grove came out. They encircled the deceased and started beating him. The complainant used the torch light and shouted when he saw that appellant No. 1 Budhi had a spear, appellant No. 2-Nathu had a Kanta (a sharp edged weapon) and appellant No. 3 Puttan had a lathi and they all were beating the deceased. The complainant raised his voice which led the appellant No. 2, to say that let us kill Chandra Sen quickly and put him in a gunny bag and destroy the dead body. They threatened the complainant that if he came nearby, he will also be killed. Thereafter they killed the deceased, put him in a gunny bag and tied it with a rope. The complainant was shocked and retreated to his village raising his voice. Some of the villagers heard his shout and three of them, i. e. , one Budhi son of Bhawani, one Ram Das also son of Bhawani and one Janki Prasad son of Mool Chandra came out with lathies and torches. The complainant informed them that his brother Chandra Sen has been killed by the appellants and that they are about to destroy his body. All of them went to the place where the incident is supposed 10 have occurred. They found that the plough of the complainant's brother was lying on the land and his buffaloes were grazing and the body of the deceased was not seen anywhere.
(3.) ALL of them went in search of the body of the deceased as well as of the accused. First they went towards the village river, but could not trace him, therefore, they went across the river to a nearby pond when they saw the three accused throwing the body in the water of the pond on the banks thereof. The complainant and his colleagues ran behind the accused by using the torches, but they could not found them. They, undoubtedly, recognised the accused throwing the body. Thereafter they took out the body from the water of the pond and went to the village and informed the village Chowkidar as to what had happened.;