Judgment

HEGDE, J.: 23 persons including the 9 appellants were tried before the Additional Sessions Judge, Badaun for various offences. All of them were convicted. by the learned Sessions Judge under S. 302/149, I.P. C., 307/ 149 I.P.C. as well as under Ss. 148 and 147 1. P. C. Under those heads they were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment, the maximum being the imprisonment for life under Section 302/149 I. P. C. The various sentences were ordered to run concurrently. In appeal the High Court of Allahabad acquitted 14 of the 23 accused giving them the benefit of doubt. The convictions imposed on the others and the sentences awarded to them were confirmed. Thereafter this appeal has been brought after obtaining special leave from this Court.

2. It has been found by both the courts below and that finding has not been challenged before us that there was enmity between the first appellant Bankey Lal, his relations and friends on one side and the deceased Bhullan Rameshwar and injured P. W. 5 Ram Chandra and the members of their families on the other. There appears to have been a long-standing dispute between these two groups. Sometime before the occurrence, the first appellant appears to have purchased a grove which he wanted to convert into an agricultural land. That grove was adjoining the lands of Ram Chandra. At the time of conversion of the grove into an agricultural land, the first appellant claimed that a portion of the land belonging to him had been encroached upon by Ram Chandra Ram Chandra denied that allegation. On the day prior to the occurrence viz, on June 29, 1964 when Ram Chandra was ploughing his lands, the first appellant accompanied by some others came and obstructed him from ploughing the land. Then the parties agreed that the dispute between them may be decided by the Lekhpal. The first appellant was to get the Lekhpal the next day. Till about 9 a.m. on the next day, the Lekhpal did not turn up. Thereafter according to the prosecution Ram Chandra and his men began to plough the land and at that time the appellants and others came armed to that place, attacked and killed Bhullan and Rameshwar and seriously injured P. W. 5. The defence version is that when the first appellant and his men were digging the roots of the trees in the grove purchased by the first appellant, the two deceased persons, Ram Chandra and their party men came and attacked them at that time in self defence the first appellant and two others attacked the party of Ram Chandra, as a result of which Bhullan and Rameshwar died and Ram Chandra sustained injuries.

3. It is established that at the time of the incident both the parties had sustained injuries. So far as Ram Chandra is concerned he had received as many as eighteen injuries, out of which four were incised wounds, six were punctured wounds, four were contused wounds and the rest were contusions and abrasions. Deceased Rameshwar had received twenty three injuries out of which one was an incised wound, another a punctured wound and the rest were contusions or abrasions. The deceased Bhullan had received nine injuries out of which eight were contusions and one was a stab injury. On the side of the appellants the first appellant Bankey Lal had received some gun-shot injuries. Some pellets appear to have grazed his body. None of them was a serious injury. He had sustained two minor abrasions also. Some of his party men had received some minor injuries.

4. According to the prosecution the party of Ram Chandra were first attacked in the field ploughed by him. At that place Ram Chandra dropped down having been injured. Thereafter Rameshwar, Bhullan and some children from the house of Ram Chandra tried to run away but the party of the appellants pursued them; they intercepted Rameshwar at about 60 paces from the original place of attack and severely attacked him; he dropped down at that place but Bhullan escaped his attackers at that place and ran towards the river which is about six furlong