MOHAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE appellants have preferred the present appeal against the judgment dated 18/12/1997 of the M.P. High Court (Gwalior Bench) convicting them under Section 302 read with Section 34, Indian Penal Code However, conviction and sentence of the accused Mohan Singh under Section 25/27 of the Arms Act by the trial Court was set aside. Earlier the trial Court convicted Mohan Singh (appellant No. 2) under Section 302, Indian Penal Code and under Section 25/27 of the Arms Act and sentenced him to imprisonment for life and one year rigorous imprisonment, respectively and convicted and sentenced Ajay Singh, appellant No. 1, and Kailash, appellant No. 2, under Section 302/34, Indian Penal Code to the imprisonment for life. However, since Ajay Singh died during the pendency of the appeal his appeal stood abated.

(2.) ADMITTEDLY both the complainant and the accused persons are close relatives, as the deceased Bhagat Singh was the son of the complainant, Ram Singh (PW-1), who is the real brother of the aforesaid accused Ajay Singh. Both the present appellants, namely, Mohan Singh and Kailash are the sons of Ajay Singh.

(3.) IT is also not in dispute that accused persons as well as the complainant lived in the same house, but separately. Further, a year before the incident there had been partition between the brothers including Ram Singh-complainant and accused-Ajay Singh, relating to their ancestral land. The following pedigree would reveal the relationship inter se between the accused and the complainant family which in turn will also reveal the motive of commission of the crime: <IMG>JUDGEMENT_428_2_1999Image1.jpg</IMG>