H.C. Mishra, J.

All these four appeals arise out of the same impugned Judgment and accordingly, they were heard together and are being disposed of by this common Judgment.

2. Heard learned counsels for the appellants and the learned counsels for the State, in their respective appeals.

3. The appellants are aggrieved by the impugned Judgment of conviction dated 27.07.2013 and Order of sentence dated 06.08.2013, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge-1, Giridih, in S.T. No. 292 of 2011 + S.T. No. 48 of 2012, whereby all these appellants have been found guilty and convicted for the offences under Sections 395, 397 and 412 of the Indian Penal Code. Upon hearing on the point of sentence, the appellants have been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years each for the offences under Sections 395, 397 and 412 of the Indian Penal Code and also fine of Rs.3000/- each for the offences under Sections 395 and 412 of the Indian Penal Code, and all the sentences were directed to run concurrently.

4. According to the prosecution story, a dacoity was committed in the house of the informant Laxmikant Rajgarhia on 03.06.2011 at about 9:00 P.M. The informant is a Mica factory owner and he had returned back from his factory along with his brother at about 9:00 P.M., by his TATA Safari vehicle. When the vehicle stopped in the portico of his house, suddenly five culprits came and opened the doors of both the sides of the vehicle and they pointed pistols on the heads of the informant and his brother. The culprits were also having a bottle of some chemical, which they poured on the pieces of cloths and put them on the noses of the informant and his brother. The chemical had not much effect on the informant, but the informant pretended to become unconscious to see the activities of the culprits. The culprits assaulted the informant by the butt of pistol on his head causing bleeding injury and he pulled him down from the vehicle and took away the gold chain and Rudraksha Mala and his Blackberry mobile set. The other culprit also assaulted his brother by the butt of the pistol and he was also pulled down from the vehicle and the culprits took his mobile and gold chain also. In the meantime, the mother and the daughter of the informant came to portico upon hearing the noise, and the culprits took their gold chain also and all of them were brought in a room, where they were confined, which was guarded by one culprit. The other four culprits took the daughter of the informant to the upper floor of the house and they committed dacoity of gold and silver articles, some of which are detailed in the F.I.R., including one idol of Laxmiji made of silver, and cash about Rs.50,000/- . They also took away seven mobile phones from the house. The value of the looted articles was about Rs.3,25,000/-. The informant has given the description of the get-ups of the culprits in his fardbeyan, which was recorded at his house on the same day at about 9:30 P.M., by the police. He has also stated that the servants of the house were also locked in a room. The culprits had cut the land-line telephone connection and they committed dacoity for about 25-30 minutes. Thereafter the nephew of the informant Mayank Rajgarhia came and when his vehicle entered through the main gate, the culprits fled away with the booty. The informant has stated in the fardbeyan that at the time of occurrence the house was lighted by electricity and he identified all the culprits by face. On the basis of the fardbeyan of the informant, Giridih (Town) P.S. Case No. 105 of 2011, corresponding to G.R. No. 990 of 2011, was instituted for the offence under Sections 395 and 397 of the Indian Penal Code and investigation was taken up. During investigation the looted articles were recovered. After investigation the police submitted the charge-sheet against the accused persons for the offences under Sections 395, 397 and 412 of the Indian Penal Code.

5. After the commitment of the case