IMPORTANT POINT
Conspiracy has to be established independently. Murder cannot be evidence of conspiracy.

JUDGMENT

Ranjan Gogoi, J. - Criminal Appeal No. 2001/2008 has been filed by accused Baliya whereas Criminal Appeal No.2002/2008 has been filed by co-accused, Gopal. Both the appellants are aggrieved by the common order dated 20.4.2007 passed by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh by which the conviction of the appellants under Section 120B read with Section 302 IPC and the sentence imposed has been affirmed.

2. The short case of the prosecution is that on 11.10.1991 Head Constable, Mukesh Kumar (PW 7), of Police Station Balwada, while returning from the Court where he had gone to attend the hearing of a case, found a person lying unconscious on the road side on Indore road. As the person was profusely bleeding PW-7 sent information to the police station, Balwada, which was entered in the General Diary of the police station. Thereafter, the victim was brought to the hospital where he was declared dead. As there were injuries on the person of the deceased, PW 14, S.S. Tomar (Inspector of Police) registered an offence under Section 302 and took up investigation of the case. On completion of investigation, the two appellants’ alongwith co-accused Manish (since dead) and Chhotu (acquitted) were charge sheeted for the offence under Section 120-B read with Section 302 IPC. The offences being triable by the Court of Sessions, the case was committed to the court of the learned Special Sessions Judge, West Nimar Mandaleshwar (M.P.). Charges under the aforesaid Sections of the Penal Code were framed against all the accused to which they pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried. In the course of the trial prosecution examined as many as 14 witnesses besides exhibiting a large number of documents. Accused Manish died in the course of the trial whereas the remaining accused including the two appellants contested the charges framed against them. At the conclusion of the trial, while accused Chhotu was exonerated of the charges levelled, the accused-appellants have been convicted as aforesaid and sentenced to undergo, inter alia, rigorous imprisonment for life. The said conviction and sentence has been maintained by the High Court in the two separate appeals filed by the appellants giving rise to the present appeals.

3. We have heard Shri S.K. Bhattacharya, learned counsel for the appellants and Shri C.D. Singh, learned counsel on behalf of the respondent- State. We have also considered the evidence of the key witnesses examined by the prosecution as well as the several documents exhibited in the course of the trial. We have also perused the orders of the learned Trial Court as well as of the High Court.

4. The deposition of PWs 1,4,5,6,8 and 11 who are the key witnesses examined by the prosecution may now be noticed: According to PW 1, the first informant, on the day of the occurrence, in the late afternoon, he was returning from the factory alongwith two lineman of the M.P. Electricity Board who had gone to the factory to carry out an inspection of a fault that had occurred in the electric connection. All the three were coming back from the factory in one scooter. According to PW 1, from the other side, accused Manish, deceased Pradeep and accused Gopal were coming on a red motor cycle belonging to the accused Manish. As deceased Pradeep had asked him to stop PW-1 stopped the scooter and on being asked by the deceased he informed him that they were coming from the factory after getting the electric fault inspected. According to PW 1, at that point of time accused Gopal went away in the direction of the Gayatri Market and the deceased alighted from the motor cycle and after talking to PW 1, he drove away in the motor cycle with the other accused i.e. Manish. According to PW 1, the scooter by which he had brought the lineman belonged to the deceased and he was going to return the same. However, the brother of the deceased, one Mukesh (PW 5), asked for the scooter and as the house of PW 1 was near the Gayatri Market both of them i.e. PW 1 and P