- (1.) THE present appeal arises against the impugned judgment of conviction and sentence dated 5th February, 2002, passed by the 3rd Additional Judicial Commissioner, Khunti in Sessions Trial No. 447 of 1999, whereby ali the three appellant have been found guilty for committing the offence under Section 302/34 IPC for murdering the deceased persons namely Sukua and Salua and, thereby, they have been sentenced to undergo R.I. for life.
(2.) THE appellants were charged for the offence under Sections 302/34, 324 and 307 IPC but they have been acquitted from the charges under Sections 307 and 324 IPC by the trial court. The prosecution case, in brief, is that on 22.9.1998 at about 7.00 p.m. the informant Mogro Munda (PW -1) heard some hulla while he was in his house, then he came out and found that hulla was coming from the side of the house of Gobal Munda (appellant no. 2). He went there and he found that Gobai Munda having Balua, Jatu Munda (appellant no. 1) having Tangi and Pandu Munda (appellant no. 3) having Ballam were assaulting Sukia Munda and Salua Munda from the weapons held by them. When the informant tried to save he was asked to go away otherwise he would also be killed and when the informant did not go from there then he was also assaulted by Jatu Munda and Gobai Munda due to which he received injuries on his forehead and on his ribs. The appellants thereafter again started assaulting the two above named persons, i.e. Sukia and Salua due to which they died in front of the house of the appellants. Further case of the prosecution is that when Sukia fell down on the ground then the appellant Gobai Munda picked up a stone and hit with it on the head on Sukia due to which his head got crushed. The motive for the occurrence was said to be that there was dispute, between the accused persons and the deceased on account of cutting of a rubber belt of a Gulel (used for the purpose of hunting birds) by Gobai Munda, the appellant due to which the appellants killed the deceased persons.
(3.) IN order to establish the charges, altogether six prosecution witnesses were examined on behalf of the prosecution. PW -1 Mogro Munda is the informant but during trial he did not support the prosecution case and, as such, was declared hostile. Similar is the position with PW -2 Somra Munda, he also was declared hostile. PW -3 is the Doctor, who examined the injuries said to have received by the informant. PW -4 is Solua Munda the sole eye witness to the occurrence. PW -5 is the Doctor, who held the Post Mortem examination on the dead body of the deceased persons and PW -6 is a formal witness, who proved the documents including the F.I.R. etc. The Investigating Officer has not been examined in this case.;