The main legal point established in the judgment is the reliance on consistent and credible eyewitness testimony, supported by medical evidence, to establish guilt under Section 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code.

JUDGMENT :

Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, J.

The appellants, except Tajamul Sheikh, in this case, have assailed their conviction under Section 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, herein after referred as the Penal Code, on 21.07.1995 by the Additional Sessions Judge, Pakur, in Sessions Case No. 576 of 1992 and the consequential sentence of imprisonment of life. The appellant Tajamul Sheikh has been convicted under Section 302 of the Penal Code and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life. He also assails the aforesaid conviction and sentence.

2. During pendency of the appeal, the appellant no. 4, Samayun Sheikh @ Shama has expired and the appeal abated, as against him.

3. The case of the prosecution shorn of unnecessary details, is that in the night of 24.09.1991, one Mukul Sk son of the accused, Tajamul Sheikh along with a boy of the same village, Badrul Sk. went to see the last show in the cinema hall at Pakur. After witnessing the movie, around mid night, they returned home and when they came back, accused Tajamul Sheikh caught hold of the said Badrul Sk. and his son tied them to a ‘Tamtam’. He assaulted the said Badrul Sk. by a stick. Upon the cry of Badrul Sk., the informant along with his two sons, the deceased Md. Mustakin and Sattak Sk. came out of their house and they saw the accused Leyakat Mamlat and Tajamul Sk. were present there and was beating the said boy. Sattar Sk. challenged the accused Tajamul Sk. that why he was not beating his own son and was beating the boy of another person. This created ‘halla’. The other accused, namely, Nowresh Sk. and his son Huma Sk. and Shama Sk. also came there and accused Tajamul Sk. rebuked Sattar Sk., saying that if he assaulted Badrul, who he (Sattar) was to protest. Then on the order of accused Nowresh Sk., the accused, Leyakat Sk., Mamlat Sk., Huma Sk. and Shama Sk. hurriedly went to the informant’s verandah, caught hold the deceased and began to assault him with fists and slaps. The accused Tajamul Sk. went to his house and brought a ‘Bhala’ and he suddenly pierced the ‘Bhala’ on the right side chest of deceased Mustakim Sk. and as a result of that, the later fell down and instantly died. At the time, when ‘Bhala’ was pierced by the accused Tajamul Sk. on the chest of the deceased, the other accused persons, caught hold of the deceased and pressed him against the wall. This incident was witnessed by the parents and the brother of the deceased and other persons of the locality. After the occurrence, the informant Abdul Wahid Sk. (P.W. 4) lodged first information report before the Pakur (M) police station and P.S. Case No. 169 of 1991 was registered. Then the investigating officer took up the investigation of this case and in course of investigation, he examined the informant, recorded the statement, visited the spot, held inquest on the dead body of the deceased, prepared inquest report and sent the same for post-mortem examination, examined other witnesses, recorded their statement and arrested the accused, made seizures from the spot and upon completion of investigation, submitted charge sheet against the accused persons.

4. The appellants-accused took the plea of denial of the charges. They further submitted that they have been falsely implicated in this case, and the deceased has been killed in the darkness of the night and they have been implicated on false allegations.

5. In order to prove its case, the prosecution examined 12 witnesses. P.W. 4, Abdul Waheed Sk. is the informant of his case. He happens to be the father of the deceased and also an eye-witness to the occurrence. P.W. 1, Abdul Sattar Sk., is the younger brother of the deceased and also an eye-witness to the occurrence. P.W. 2, Khadiza Bibi happens to be the mother of the deceased and also an eyewitness to the occurrence. P.W. 3, Badrul Sk. is the boy with whom, the son of the appellant, Tajamul Sk. went to the cinema hall and after their return, he has been assaulted by the accused. P.W.5, Ketabuddin Sk., P.W. 6, M