P.K. Musahary, J.

1. The 4 (four) appellants, all CRPF personnel, were convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34, IPC and under Section 323 read with Section 34, IPC and were sentenced to undergo life imprisonment with fine of Rs. 5,000 only to be paid by each of them and in default to undergo one year imprisonment for the offence of murder and also sentenced to suffer 6 (six) months imprisonment for the offence of voluntarily causing hurt to the informant and also sentenced to suffer one year imprisonment for the offence of assault and for using criminal force upon the informant public servant while he was discharging official duties by judgment and order dated 20.12.2000 passed by Additional Sessions Judge, North Tripura, Dharmanagar in Sessions Trial 10(NT/K) of 1998. Being dissatisfied with and aggrieved by the aforesaid judgment and order dated 20.12.2000 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, North Tripura, the appellants preferred an appeal before this Court which was numbered as Criminal Appeal No. 03/01 at Agartala Bench. The said appeal was heard by a Division Bench and a judgment and order was passed on 31.7.2003 allowing the said appeal and setting aside the conviction and sentence of the accused/appellants and consequently acquitting the appellants of charges framed against them. The State of Tripura being aggrieved by the judgment and order dated 31.7.2003 aforesaid preferred an appeal before the hon'ble Supreme Court which was registered as Criminal Appeal No. 927 of 2004. While hearing the aforesaid criminal appeal, the hon'ble Supreme Court found that in the judgment dated 31.7.2003, the Division Bench of this Court allowed the Criminal Appeal No. 3 of 2001 earlier and the reason for judgment was recorded later. This according to Apex Court, was a very unsatisfactory way of disposing of the case. In paragraph 14 of the aforesaid judgment and order, the Apex Court observed as follows:

Thus, the learned Judges of the hon'ble High Court appears to have committed two irregularities in delivering the judgment - (i) it passed the operative portion of the judgment in the Criminal Appeal earlier but purported to record the reasons later and (ii) the date of judgment giving reasons is mentioned as 31.7.2003, which does not appeal to be correct as in para 7 of the judgment it is mentioned that reasons will be given after 31.7.2003. Thus, the impugned judgment appears to be ante dated.

Allowing the said appeal, the impugned judgment dated 31.7.2003 passed by this Court was set aside and the hon'ble Supreme Court remitted the matter to this Court for fresh decision providing that any observation made in the judgment of the Apex Court shall not influence the High Court in deciding the appeal. On remand from hon'ble Supreme Court, we have heard the Criminal Appeal No. 03/01 afresh.

2. We have heard Mr. A.B. Choudhury, learned senior counsel assisted by Mr. J.P. Sharma; learned Counsel for the appellants and Mr. A. Ghosh, learned Public Prosecutor for the State of Tripura. We have also perused the records made available before us.

3. The story narrated by the prosecution in brief is that on 8.7.1996, some police personnel of Dharmanagar Police Station, led by Sub-Inspector of Police Shri Kamal Kar Choudhury, passed through the Town Hall of Dharmanagar on law and order duty. A cultural show was going on in the said Town Hall on 8.7.1996 and the police team was deployed on being approached by some organizer of the said cultural show. On being informed that some CRPF personnel without ticket had gate crashed and forcibly occupied some seats in the Hall, the S.I. of Police Shri K.K Choudhury asked the CRPF personnel to vacate the seats. The CRPF personnel went away by abusing the said State Police in filthy language and threatening them with dire consequence. At 8:30 p.m., the CRPF personnel again came and occupied available seats/chairs without tickets and when the complainant Shri K.K. Choudhury asked them