Judgement

RANGANATH MISRA, J.:- These appeals by special leave are directed against a common judgment of the Patna High Court rendered in Death Reference 3 of 1984 and Criminal Appeals Nos. 627, 647 and 676 of 1984. Each of the appellants in the two appeals has been sentenced to death under section 302 read with section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code.

2. Appellant Yadav has independently been convicted under section 302 of the Code and has been sentenced to death. He has also been convicted under section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act and has been sentenced to ten years rigorous imprisonment. Two other accused persons who had been put on trial along with the appellants were acquitted by the trial court and their acquittal has become final.

3. Mahesh Narain Prasad Sharma, the victim, was a Member of the Indian Administrative Service and was posted as Collector and District Magistrate of Gopalganj District in the State of Bihar. On the 11 th of April, 1983 Mahesh Narain went to his court to work in the morning and after he finished his work, both he and his brother, P.W. 62, who was waiting in the chamber of the victim started going down from the first floor of the Collectorate to reach the portion where the Collectors car was parked. Mahesh Prasad was followed by his Orderly-Peon, P.W. 19, and his brother one after the other. When the deceased came on the landing, Yadav who was following them sudenly took out a bomb from the bag which he held and threw it at the Collector. The bomb exploded with a loud noise and as a result of the burst Mahesh Prasad fell rolling on the ground and part of his body was blown off. Yadav jumped off from the stairs through the side railing but was chased by P.W. 62 and others and was apprehended near a fruit stall. He readily confessed to his guilt but gave out that he had committed the ghastly murder at the behest of appellant Tripathi. According to Yadav, Tripathi had prevailed upon him to kill the Collector by way of retaliation for demolishing the Ashram after getting Tripathi detained in jail. Yadav further maintained that Sadiq, one of the accused persons, had supplied the bomb to him. P.W. 14, the Inspector of Police, who was attracted to the scene by the sound of the bomb burst recorded the first information given by P. W. 62, arrested Yadav and sent him to Gopalganj Police Station.

4. At the trial, 75 witnesses were examined for the prosecution. Out of them, the evidence of 14 had been tendered. So far as Yadav is concerned., there was direct evidence of his involvement and he had also confessed to his guilt. Special leave, so far as he is concerned, is limited to the question of sentence. We have, therefore. heard learned-counsel for Yadav on the question of sentence and see no justification to take a view different from what, has been said about him by the High Court. His Appeal, therefore, is dismissed and his conviction as also sentence as awarded by the trial court and confirmed by the High Court shall stand.

5. We shall now deal with the appeal filed by Sadanand Tripathi. Sadanand came from a poor family and started his career as a Bus Conductor. While in employment, he obtained the Degree in Law and started practice as a lawyer in Uttar Pradesh for some time. Thereafter, he started giving religious discourses and styled himself as Sant Gyaneshwar Maharaj. He tried to make his followers believe that he had seen God and if they followed him and his preachings. they too could see God. Soon he picked up considerable following. He used to tell his followers that they should surrender their body, wealth and mind so that the prospect of seeing God would be bright. He encroached upon a plot of Government land and built his Ashram thereon. As he had easy access to resources, the Ashram got fitted with all modern amenities. Soon his followers, however, started realizing that they had been duped and tricked and began to withdraw from him. Sadanand had employed a band of muscle men to carry out h