- (1.) Three appellants namely (I) Budhi Kumar (ii) Teju Kumar and (iii) Putki Devi have preferred the instant criminal appeal being aggrieved and dissatisfied by the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 28.02.2007 passed in Sessions Trial No. 530 of 2004 by Sri Rai Satish Bahadur, learned Additional Judicial Commissioner No. XVIth, Ranchi, whereby and where under, the learned Additional Judicial Commissioner No. XVIth, Ranchi had held all the three appellants namely, Budhi Kumar, Teju Kumar and Putki Devi guilty and convicted them for the offence punishable under Section 302/34 IPC and was ordered to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life and to pay fine of Rs. 5,000/- each and in default of payment of fine, further rigorous imprisonment for one year and if fine amount when realized, shall be paid to the informant.
(2.) From perusal of record, it appears that the instant criminal appeal was admitted on 26.07.2007 after condoning the delay. Ms. Kavita Singh was appointed as amicus curiae to assist the court. However Mr. G.C. Sahu, Advocate now represents all the appellants.
(3.) The case of prosecution, as unfolded in the fardbeyan of Savi Devi (P.W.-1), wife of deceased Tara Chand Kumar, resident of Village Brahmni, Kamar Tola, P.S.-Silli, District - Ranchi, recorded by S.I. B.P. Mandal, Officer-in-Charge Silli P.S. on 27.04.2004 at 09:45 hours at the door of the informant alleging therein that at 21:30 hours in the night the husband of the informant Tara Chand Kumar after taking meal had come outside the house to wash his hands, in meanwhile dewar of the informant namely Teju Kumar (appellant) armed with tangi, Putki Devi (appellant), wife of Teju Kumar armed with gupti and Budhi Kumar armed with lathi and further Budhi Kumar assaulted the husband of the informant by means of lathi, consequent thereupon Teju Kumar assaulted the husband of informant by means of tangi on his neck and thereupon Putki Devi assaulted the husband of informant by means of gupti on his chest and other parts of the body. Consequent thereupon the husband of the informant died and on hulla being raised by the husband of the informant, nearby people came whereupon accused persons fled away. Motive of the occurrence is that three months prior to the occurrence wild elephants had destroyed the house of the informant, thereupon the informant had constructed a small room adjacent to the room of Teju Kumar and Ganga Kumar and husband of the informant demanded ancestral property caused strained relation between the parties.;