I.P.VASISHTHA, J. - (1.) THE instant ap­peal is directed against the judgment of conviction dated 2-8-1979 and its cor­responding order of sentence dated 3-8-1979 passed by Sri K.K. Verma the then IVth Additional Sessions Judge, Hardoi requiring the appellants Raghubir Singh and Munnu Singh to undergo life im­prisonment for an offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC; appellants Sibba Singh and one Barey Singh (since deceased) were to serve life imprisonment under Section 302 read with Section 34, I.P.C. All the appellants alongwith the aforesaid Barey Singh were further called upon to serve rigorous imprisonment for 3 months for an offence punishable under Section 24 of the Cattle Trespass Act; the sentences were, of course, to run concur­rently.
(2.) ACCORDING to the prosecution the appellants are brother 'inter se' Barey Singh was their near collateral, they are agriculturists and residents of village Dhaniamau. Similarly the complainant party represented primarily by P.W. 1 Shiva Nandan also belongs to the same village and are agriculturist by occupation. The deceased Ram Asrey and Raghubir were their collateral and they too were engaged in the same vocation. The parties held their fields almost adjoining with each other on the out skirts of their village. On 9-4-1978 at about 7 a.m. the complainant Shiva Nandan, the aforesaid deceased Raghubir and Ram Asrey be­sides P. W. 2 Raj Kumar and six others were busy in harvesting 'Bejhara' crop (mixture of wheat, gram and barley). In the adjoin­ing field, belonging to appellant Raghubir Singh, he alongwith his accomplices was also involved in similar activity; incidentally appellants Raghubir Singh and Munnu Singh were carrying guns; the later had brought their bullocks and let them loose for grazing in their own field but after sometime those buliocks sirayed into the fields of the complainant party and as they were damaging the ripe crop, therefore, the complainants remonstrated and hauled them up for getting them im­pounded in the cattle-pond as the accused party instead of taking their protest in good spirit, retorted that their bullocks would keep on grazing in their own way and nobody could dare disturb them.
(3.) THE deceased Raghubir and Ram Asrey refused to be blackmailed and started moving with the bullocks for the cattle-pond but even though they had hardly crossed over their own field when the appellants alongwith Barey Singh rushed towards them menacingly. Sibba Singh and Barey Singh exhorted their ac­complices Raghubir Singh and Munnu Singh to shoot down Raghubir and Ram Asrey on their adamancy to take the bul­locks to the cattle-pond. Thus Raghubir Singh fired a shot at Ram Asrey from a close range whereas Munnu Singh fired independently on Raghubir resulting in their instantaneous death. The appellants then let loose their bullocks which ran away towards village Bundapur and they themselves took to their heels alongwith their respective weapons.;