Shib Sadhan Sadhu, J. - (1.) THE instant Criminal Appeal is directed against the judgment and order of conviction passed by the Learned Additional Sessions Judge, 3rd Court, Midnapore in Sessions Trial No. VII of October, 1983 decided on 02.03.1988 whereby the appellants have been sentenced to suffer Rigorous Imprisonment for 2 years each for commission of offence under Section 148 of the Indian Penal Code and also to suffer Rigorous Imprisonment for 6 years each and to pay a fine of Rs. 1,000/ - each, in default, to suffer further Rigorous Imprisonment for 2 months each for commission of offence under Section 304(I) of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 149 IPC. However, both the sentences wound run concurrently.
(2.) SANS unnecessary details the prosecution case may be reproduced in the following words: - "That on 06.10.1981 at about 11.40 a.m. when the de -facto complainant Anil Kumar Maity returned home from Banamali Chatta Hospital, his daughter Prativa Rani Maity came running and reported that the appellants had been assaulting her uncle Kanai Maity with 'Bhali' in front of the house of Adhar Singh. Hearing that the de -facto complainant and his elder brother Paramananda Maity rushed to the place of occurrence and found blood stain on the road and the appellants Bani Maity, Ananta Jana, Prasanta Maity and Bhim Paira were wiping out the blood stain from the 'Bhalis' by their hands in front of the house of Panchanan Bera. The remaining appellants were standing on the road. They also found bleeding injury on the leg of the appellant Bibek Maity. Seeing them the appellants fled away through the Northern Side Bridge. Panchanan Bera came running to them and told that the appellants had murdered Kanai Maity, brother of the de -facto complainant, inside the house of Panchanan and fled away. Panchanan further reported that while Kanai was returning from Nimpur hat the appellants attacked him in front of the house of Adhar Singh and chased him and he rushed towards the house of Panchanan and he fell down. Then Achinta and Bani struck Kanai with 'Bhali'. Kanai somehow took shelter inside the house of Panchanan and the said Ananta Jana and Bani Maity entered inside following Kanai and assaulted him and murdered him. Thereafter, the de -facto complainant went to the Contai P.S. and lodged a written complaint on the basis of which Contai P.S. Case No. 11 dated 06.10.1981 under Section 302/34 IPC was registered. That case was investigated into and on completion of investigation charge sheet was submitted. Thereafter, the case was placed for trial before the Learned Additional Sessions Judge, 3rd Court, Midnapore who framed charges under Section 148 I.P.C. and u/s. 302/149 I.P.C. against the present appellants and after completion of the trial he held the appellants guilty and convicted them as aforesaid.
(3.) IN order to prove the charge the prosecution examined altogether 11 witnesses. Out of those witnesses, P.W. 1 Anil Kumar Maity is the de -facto complainant and brother of the deceased Kanai Maity, P.W. 2 Prativa Maity is the niece of the deceased who witnessed the first part of the incident, P.W. 3 Indubala Maity is the Boudi of the deceased, P.W. 4 Sandharani Maity is the widow of the deceased, P.W. 5 is Panchanan Bera inside whose house the deceased was allegedly murdered, P.W. 6 Paramananda Maity is the elder brother of the deceased, P.W. 7 Chanchal Kumar Maity was merely tendered for cross -examination which was declined, P.W. 8 is Constable Buddhiram Sharma who carried the dead body to the hospital for post mortem examination, P.W. 9 is Dr. B.K. Nanda who held the post mortem examination, P.W. 10 is S.I. of Police Swapan Kumar Das who registered the case on receipt of the complaint and P.W. 11 is S.I. of Police Tarun Kumar Das who took up investigation, proceeded to the place of occurrence, held inquest over the dead body and sent the same for post mortem examination, prepared rough sketch map with index and seized some articles and also some blood stained earth and controlled earth from the place of occurrence under a seizure list and thereafter on completion of investigation, submitted the charge sheet.;