The conviction based on the testimony of a sole injured eyewitness is valid if the testimony is credible and minor discrepancies do not overshadow the overall evidence supporting the charges of murder and attempted murder.

JUDGMENT :

Sujit Narayan Prasad, J.

1. The present Appeal has been filed under section 374(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure against the judgment of conviction dated 20.3.1997 and order of sentence dated 21.03.1997, passed by the learned Sessions Judge, Deoghar, in Sessions Case No. 185 of 1995, whereby and whereunder, the learned court below has convicted the appellants under section 302/34 and 307/34 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced them to undergo RI for life with fine of Rs. 5,000/- each under section 302/34 of the IPC and RI for seven years u/s 307/34 of IPC. All the sentences were directed to run concurrently. It is further ordered that half of the amount so realized from the convicts as fine, shall be given to the wife or dependants of the deceased.

Factual Matrix:

2. The prosecution case, in brief, on the basis of fardbeyan of the informant Rajesh Singh (PW-1) dated 24.12.1994 is that accused Angad Singh and Bachan Singh are full brothers and accused Tunna Singh is their cousin. Accused Angad Singh was married with Ranju Devi @ Baby Devi, daughter of Satish Prasad Singh (PW-11) of the informant’s village Malaypur, District Jamui. Deceased Sunil Kumar Singh was chachera sala of Satish Prasad Singh and Mama of the informant Rajesh Singh(PW-1). Sunil Kumar Singh was married in village Bathaniya and was living in Castair Town at Deoghar. He was an employee of High Court of Patna.

3. Further case of the prosecution is that Satish Prasad Singh wanted to gift eight acres land to his daughter Ranju Devi, but the accused Angad Singh wanted that the same should be registered in his own name, to which the deceased used to object.

4. Further case of the prosecution is that on 22.12.94 Sunil Kumar Singh (deceased) along with the informant left Deoghar for his Sasural in village Bathaniya by his Yamaha motorcycle. At about 01:00 p.m. in between village Chandan and Katoriya they met with the accused Angad Singh who was on a blue motorcycle along with an unknown youth (later identified as accused Tunna Singh).

5. They accompanied the deceased and informant up to Katoriya Chowk, where they all took tea and breakfast. Thereafter, the accused asked the deceased about his programme regarding return from his Sasural. The deceased told him that they would return by 24^th upon which the accused requested them to wait there for about one hour; by that time he would return from Chandan and accompany them up to Banks. The deceased and the informant waited there for more than one hour, but Angad Singh did not return and hence they left for village Bathaniya.

6. It has further been alleged that on 24.12.1994 the deceased left his Sasural along with the informant by motorcycle for Deoghar.The informant was driving the motor-cycle and the deceased was sitting on back of the motor-cycle. At about 1:45 p.m., when the victim and the informant reached near Dardmara Chowk, they saw all the three accused persons sitting in