The main legal point established in the judgment is the reliance on consistent eyewitness testimony, supporting medical evidence, and absence of enmity to establish guilt in a homicide case.

RAM NANDAN PRASAD and BALKRISHNA JHA JJ.

1. This appeal arises out of the Judgment and order of conviction passed by the then learned Additional Sessions Judge, 5th, Gaya, in S. Tr. No. 106/97 on 22.5.2000.

2. The abovenamed sole appellant has been convicted under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life. He has further been convicted under Section 27 of the Arms Act and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for three years. However, sentences awarded to the appellant have been ordered to run concurrently.

3. The incident occurred on 5.10.96 at 4.30 p.m. in Bhuin Toli of Village-Nadra Paliar Tal, P.S. Khizersarai, District-Gaya. At the alleged time while the villagers were singing Jhumar songs on the eve of Jitiya, the appellant armed with pistol came and fired towards female which hit Jirmatiya Devi and also her baby aged five months. Jirmatiya Devi sustained firearm injury on her face, forehead, eyes, throat and chest and fell down floundering on the ground. The baby in her lap also sustained injuries. On the way to Khizersarai Hospital Jirmatiya Devi died. The witnesses, Rameshwar Manjhi PW 2, Ramjitan Manjhi, PW 3 and Binda Manjhi, PW 4 and many villagers witnessed the occurrence of murder committed by the appellant due to previous enmity.

4. On the same day at 8.45 p.m. the informant, Sateyndra Manjhi (PW 7) gave his fardbeyan (Ext 3) before the officer In-charge, Khijersarai Police Station. On the basis of his fardbeyan a formal First Information Report (Ext 4) was drawn up and a case was registered against the appellant under Sections 302/324/307 of the IPC and Section 27 of the Arms Act. The injured, Rajanti Kumari, also later on died. On completion of the investigation the police submitted chargesheet under Section 302/34 of the IPC and Section 27 of the Arms Act. After cognizance of the offence and commitment of the case the accused was put on trial.

5. The accused pleaded innocence and false implication owing to previous enmity.

6. The prosecution led the evidence and ultimately learned Additional Sessions Judge. Gaya, passed the Judgment and order of conviction against the appellant.

7. On behalf of the appellant learned counsel contended that at the relevant hour of the occurrence the appellant was intoxicated and was deprived of self control. His act was not premeditative so, the case falls within the ambit of exception of Sec- tion 300 IPC.

8. He further contended that in this case the prosecution has examined all the interested and partisan witnesses, so, the trial Judge wrongly accepted their evidence for the conviction of the appellant. The Judgment of conviction is perverse in na- ture and is fit to be set aside. On the other hand, learned APP for the State submitted that in a case of partisan, or related witnesses strict scrutiny is required for accepting their evidence. In the present case the evidence of all the eye witnesses is broadly true against the appellant and there is nothing wrong in the judgment of conviction.

9. In order to examine the rival con- tentions, it is necessary to appreciate the evidence on record.

10. At trial the prosecution examined altogether ten witnesses in support of its case. Out of them PW 1, Mungeshwar Manjhi is a hostile witness. PW 8 is Dr. Awadhesh Kumar Sharma who examined the injured, Rajanti Kumari, on 6.10.96 at 6.30 p.m. in Primary Health Centre, Khizer and found three simple injuries on her person caused by warm pellet like substance, and she was discharged. He proved the injury report (Ext 1). PW 9 is Dr. Arbind Prasad who conducted autopsy on the dead body of the deceased, Rajanti Kumari and also proved postmortem examination report of the deceased Jirmatiya Devi. PW 10, Pramod Kumar Singh, is the investigating officer of this case.

The remaining six witnesses, namely, PW 2 Rameshwar Manjhi, PW 3 Ramjatan Manjhi, PW 4 Binda Manjhi, PW 5 Chandeshwar Manjhi, PW 6 Kouleshwari Devi and PW 7 Sateyndra Manjhi are the eye