The court affirmed that eyewitness testimony, even from relatives, can be credible and sufficient to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt in murder cases.

JUDGMENT :

(Jitendra Kumar, J.)

All the appeals have been taken up together as they have been preferred against the same impugned judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 22.04.2019 and 26.04.2019 respectively, passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, FTC-II, West Champaran at Bettiah, in Sessions Trial No. 418 of 2017 arising out of Sathi P.S. Case No. 118 of 2016, whereby all six appellants have been found guilty for the offence punishable under Sections 147 and 302/149 of the Indian Penal Code. Appellant/Garjan Yadav has been further found guilty under Section 148 of the Indian Penal Code and Appellant/Dhruv Yadav has been further found guilty under Section 27 of the Arms Act. All the appellants have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year under Section 147 of the Indian Penal Code and to undergo life imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/- each under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. Appellant Garjan Yadav has been further sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for two years under Section 148 of the Indian Penal Code and appellant Dhruv Yadav has been further sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/-under Section 27 of the Arms Act. In default to pay the fine, the appellants have been directed to undergo additional rigorous imprisonment for three months. All the sentences have been directed to run concurrently.

2. The prosecution case as emerging from the Fardbeyan of the informant Mannan Yadav recorded by Sub Inspector of Sathi Police Station at 23:50 O’clock on 08.09.2016 near the emergency ward of MJK Hospital is that at 5:15 P.M. on 08.09.2016 the informant along with his father Jhapas Yadav and uncle Jhagru Yadav had just sat at Chhathia Ghat Chabutra (Platform) after inspecting their agricultural field. All of a sudden, all the six appellants and co-accused Ramdat Yadav, Shivparsan Yadav, Jawahar Yadav, Bachu Yadav, Rajendra Yadav and 4-5 unknown persons came there and surrounded them. Appellant Dhruv Yadav exhorted the co-accused to kill them stating that they (victim side) are pursuing litigation after getting the land registered. They would be finished today. With such exhortation, Dhruv Yadav fired at his father with his gun hitting his leg. Seeing the occurrence, he somehow sneaked away from there and hid himself in nearby field and kept watching the occurrence. He saw that the appellant Rajendra Yadav fired at his uncle Jhagru Yadav by his gun hitting his thigh. In the meantime, Garjan Yadav, Ramdat Yadav and Shivparsan Yadav having farsa in their hands and Ramparsan Yadav, Guddu Yadav, Jawahar Yadav, Bachu Yadav and Shambhu Yadav along with others having lathi and spear in their hands, were assaulting his father and uncle indiscriminately, whereas Dhruv Yadav and Rajendra Yadav started doing indiscriminate firing hitting his father and uncle on different parts of their body. His father and uncle received injury caused by Lathi, Bhala and Farsa also on their heads and other parts of their bodies, resulting into fracture in their hands and legs on different places. Having seen the occurrence, he rushed to the village crying. When the villagers came there on his hulla, the accused persons fled away, leaving his father and uncle in injured condition. Both the injured persons were taken to Chanpatia Hospital by him with the help of co-villagers, wherefrom seeing the very serious condition of his father, he sent his father directly to Bettiah by vehicle but he died on way to Bettiah. His uncle Jhagru Yadav was sent to Bettiah MJK Hospital, wherefrom the doctor referred him to Patna. But he died when he was being lifted in the ambulance for taking him to Patna. The reason of the occurrence is stated to be land dispute between the accused and informant sides. The grand-father of the informant had got some land registered from Mishraji and Koina Ji, in regard to which, the accused persons always used to quarrel with them. Even Panchay