SHYAM KISHORE SHARMA and AKHILESH CHANDRA JJ.

1. All the above three appeals have been heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment because they have arisen out of one judgment dated 6th April, 1988 passed by 4th Additional Sessions Judge, Begusarai in Sessions Case No. 140 of 1984. By the said judgment, these appellants were held guilty under Section 396 of the Indian Penal Code and were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life. Initially Cr. Appeal (DB) No. 208 of 1988 was filed by Ram Udit Sahni alias Hippia Sahni, Ram Prakash Sahni alias Karia and four others but during pendency of appeal, Ram Udit Sahni alias Hippia Sahni and Ram Prakash Sahni alias Karia died. So the appeal against them abated and their names have been expunged from the array of memo of appeal. The above appellants were charged along with others namely, Anita Devi, Jiriya Devi, Chhathu Ram, Radhe Das, Binod Kumar, Kishore Kumar and Chhathu Paswan but they were acquitted by the trial Court.

2. Charge under Section 412 of the Indian Penal Code was framed against accused Chhathu Ram, Binod Kumar Mishra, Hippia alias Ram Udit Sahni alias Khan Saheb, Ginia Devi (Jiriya Devi), Amita Devi (Anita Devi), Ram Prakash (Prasad) Sahni alias Karia, Dinesh Sahni, Pramod Singh alias Mahendra Singh alias Sitaram Singh alias Baldeo Singh whereas all the fifteen accused persons including these appellants and some other accused persons were charged under Section 396 of the Indian Penal Code in connection with an occurrence of the night of 2/3.2.1984 at Ratanpur, Bishanpur, Chatarbhuj, P.S. Muffasil Begusarai, district Begusarai in which the criminals not only committed dacoity in the house of the informant Gopal Prasad/Singh (PW 9), rather in course of commission of dacoity, they committed murder of the informants brother Prushotam Singh.

3. The prosecution case has resulted on the basis of a fardbeyan registered against unknown on the of statement off Gopal Prasad Singh (PW 9) recorded at 3.00a.m. on 3.2.1984 at Sadar Hospital, Begusarai in which he has stated that he is a resident of village Bishanpur (Chatarbhuj), P.S. Begusarai Moffasil, district Begusarai and in the previous night, while he was sleeping along with his other family members at about 1.00 a.m. they were disturbed when the criminals were knocking the door from outside and were telling to cut the door by means of gaita. On hearing the sound of criminals, the informant took up his gun and cartridges and opened his room. He found 4 to 5 persons standing in the Angan. At that time, electric bulb was available which was giving the light. Those 4 to 5 dacoits pointed out pistols upon the informant and one of the dacoits snatched the DBBL gun and 20 cartridges from the informant and they looted articles from the adjacent room and they pushed the informant in the said room and closed it from outside. The dacoits were wearing lungi and were also wrapped in shawls. They were of average built-up. Two of the criminals were long and others were of average height. All appeared to be illiterate. The criminals took away various articles. Altogether 12 to 13 dacoits were spotted there who were seen escaping after commission of dacoity. The dacoits fired four rounds in the house. The informant and others cried but within half of an hour the dacoits plundered the house articles. After the dacoits escaped, wife of informants younger brother Balmiki Singh (not examined) came and opened the room of the informant. The informant came outside the room and noticed Hare Krishna Pathak (not examined), Ashok Singh (PW 2), Ramchandra Singh (not examined) and others present there. The informant also saw his brother Purushotam Singh (deceased) who was shot at on his chest and he was in pool of blood. The informants wife was also having injury upon her left arm during commission of dacoity. The informants brother Purushotam Singh and informants wife were carried to hospital for treatment but the doc