JUDGMENT

Dr. Arijit Pasayat, J. —

1. Challenge in the present appeals is to the judgment of a Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court allowing the appeal filed by the respondents. The respondents were found guilty of offence punishable under Sections 302, 307 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short the ‘IPC’) by the trial Court. It is to be noted that two appeals were filed before the High Court by the convicted accused persons. Criminal Appeal No.2007/1997 was preferred by Gajadhar Singh (respondent No.1) and Criminal Appeal No.1963/1997 was preferred by Janardan Singh, Sarvajit Singh, Suresh Singh, Umesh Singh, Mritunjai Singh and Haribhan Chaudhury. The High Court dismissed the appeal of respondent No.1-Gajadhar but set aside the conviction so far as appellants in the other appeal before it. However, so far as Gajadhar is concerned his conviction in terms of Section 307 read with Section 149 IPC was altered and he was convicted under Section 323 read with Section 149 IPC. So far as other appellants are concerned their convictions under Section 302 and 307 both read with Section 149 IPC were set aside and instead they were convicted under Section 323 read with Section 149 IPC. The conviction under Section 147 IPC was affirmed.

2. Background facts in a nutshell are as follows:

The accused Gajadhar Singh and Umesh Singh are real brothers being sons of Ram Vichar Singh while Sarvajit Singh accused is son of Janardan Singh. Janardan Singh is the first cousin of Ram Vichar Singh as their fathers were real brothers. The remaining two accused, namely, Mritunjai Singh and Haribhan Chaudhury belonged to their group. Janardan Singh was earlier the Pradhan of Gaon Sabha Bankara Saiyed Bukhara. In the election scheduled to be held in April, 1995, the office of Pradhan of the said Gaon Sabha was reserved for a person belonging to backward caste. Janardan Singh then set up Haribhan Yadav (Chaudhary) while Chandra Bhan Singh (hereinafter referred to as ‘deceased’) set up Ramakant Yadav as candidate for the office of Pradhan. Janardan Singh himself filed his nomination papers for the membership of Block Development Committee while deceased Chandra Bhan Singh proposed the name of Shri Ram Bhar for the said office. The election for the office of Pradhan commenced in the morning of 7.4.1995 and the polling station was in the primary school of the village. Chandra Bhan Singh was also the polling agent of Ramakant Yadav. Shortly after commencement of the polling, Janardan Singh and some persons of his group started creating disturbance and resorted to rowdism. Chandra Bhan Singh asked them not to create any disturbance and to allow the poll to be conducted in a peaceful manner. Janardan Singh then exhorted his companions that he should be beaten. Thereafter Janardan Singh and Sarvajit Singh each caught one hand of Chandra Bhan Singh and Gajadhar Singh fired from a country made pistol upon him and the shot him upon his chest. Shivji Yadav, Deedan Singh and Keshav rushed forward to save him but the accused Suresh Singh Umesh Singh, Mritunjai Singh and Haribhan assaulted them with lathis. Chandra Bhan Singh fell clown and died on the spot. The injured Keshav Singh Shivji and Deedan Singh thereafter went to the PHC Siyar where medical aid was given to them and they were also medically examined. Keshav Singh got the FIR of the incident scribed by Raghav Singh and lodged the same at 12.40 p.m. at Police Station, Ubhav which is at a distance of 4 miles from the place of occurrence. Udai Bhan Singh (PW-6), clerk-constable, registered a case in the general diary on the basis of the FIR lodged by Keshav Singh. Subhash Chandra Sonkar (CW-2), SI Commended investigation of the case and immediately proceeded for the spot. The dead body of Chandra Bhan Singh was lying in front of the building of primary school in village Bankara Saiyed Bukhara. He found blood on the spot and collected plain and bloodstained earth from there and prepa