IMPORTANT POINTS
Behaviour of witnesses would vary from person to person and situation to situation, uniformity cannot be expected. Evidence of eye witnesses cannot be faulted merely because they ran away.
Delay iin lodging FIR, duly explained, is not fatal.

JUDGMENT

Mohan M. Shantanagoudar, J.

1. This is yet another case of the brutal murder of a person with a view to prohibit such person from deposing before the Court in a case against his assailant. This is a case wherein the dead body was cut into two pieces, and thrown at two different places, in order to destroy the evidence.

2. These appeals are directed against the judgment dated 16.08.2010/06.09.2010 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Patna in Criminal Appeal No. 291 of 1988, confirming the judgment of conviction passed against the appellants herein by the 8th Additional Sessions Judge, Sasaram in Sessions Trial No. 192/117 of 1977/1983, for the offences punishable under Section 302 read with Section 149 and Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code. The appellants were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life under Section 302 read with Section 149, and a further period of three years under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code.

3. Seven accused including the appellants were tried. Among the seven accused, two accused have died. Five accused are before us as appellants in these two appeals.

4. The case of the prosecution in brief is that, on 14.10.1973 at 11:00 p.m., deceased – Gupteshwar Singh along with PW6– Shambhu Singh carried meals for his farm worker; the farm worker was staying in the pump house of the deceased which is situated at the west of Pusauli railway station. The first informant, viz., Srimati Surajbansi Kuer, PW11, who is none other than the step-mother of the deceased – Gupteshwar Singh, found that the deceased had omitted to take his torch light along with him. Since it was pitch dark and as the pump house was located at quite a distance from her house into the fields, she along with Muneshwar Singh, PW-14, the brother of the deceased, went to handover the torch to the deceased. When she reached the lane situated east of the cattle shed of one Chhabi Koiri, she found PW6 – Shambhu Singh, who accompanied the deceased, coming back running from south. He told the informant that seven accused including the appellants caught hold of the deceased, pushed him down on the ground near the south-eastern corner of the cattle shed of Chhabi Koiri and were pressing his neck at the place which was a shallow land. When she reached along with PW6 – Shambhu Singh and PW14 – Muneshwar Singh near the said spot, she heard the moaning sound – ‘Aah aah’ of the deceased. When she flashed the torch light, they saw seven accused including the appellants holding the deceased – Gupteshwar Singh. One of the accused, namely, Shesh Badan Singh (now expired) was armed with a gun and the remaining accused were having lathis. When she raised hue and cry that the seven accused were killing her son(deceased), accused Shesh Badan Singh instigated the other accused to kill the informant and others declaring that, by that time they had already killed the deceased – Gupteshwar Singh. Immediately, thereafter, the deceased stopped moaning. All the accused lifted and took the deceased towards the railways yard situated to the east of the place of occurrence. PW6, PW11 and PW14 being frightened by the threats given by the accused – Shesh Badan Singh, rushed to their house. Thereafter, PW11 went to Kudra Police Station in the morning of 15.10.1973 to lodge a complaint, wherein there was a huge assembly of persons in connection with the auction of cement, which was being carried out by an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police. As such, she could not lodge the information then. Since she was an illiterate rural lady, and as one of the person from the mob advised her to go to Dehri Police Station to lodge the complaint, she went to Dehri Police Station on 15.10.1973 wherein the information was not received by the officer at Dehri Police Station. Immediately, thereafter she boarded the train and came back to Kudra and reached Kudra Police Station in the midnight, i.e., the intervening night of 15.10.1973 and 16.10.1973. As the police offic