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HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
M.C. Jain and K.K. Misra, JJ.
Vijai Yadava, Ramdeo Yadava, Ram Pravesh alias Pankhia alias Ganesh
Versus
State of U.P.
CRIMINAL APPEAL 153 of 1982
Decided On : 17 December 2004
Criminal Appeal 153 Of 1982
Identification - Criminal Law - Section 396 I.P.C. - Summary
Fact of the Case:
The case involved a dacoity and murder that took place in a train compartment, resulting in the death of two individuals and injuries to several passengers. The accused were convicted under Section 396 of the Indian Penal Code (I.P.C.) based on the identification by eyewitnesses.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the identification of the accused by eyewitnesses was reliable and consistent, despite one witness turning hostile. The court concluded that the guilt of the accused was proved beyond any shadow of doubt.
Issues: The main issue revolved around the reliability of eyewitness identification and the possibility of false implication.
Ratio Decidendi: The court relied on the consistent identification of the accused by multiple eyewitnesses, the circumstances of the arrest, and the presence of a large sum of money near the victims' bodies to establish the guilt of the accused.
Final Decision: The appeals were dismissed, and the accused were directed to be arrested and serve a life imprisonment sentence under Section 396 I.P.C.
( 1 ) THESE two appeals are connected with each other, having arisen out of the same judgment dated 24. 11. 1981 passed by Sri S. N. Tiwari, the then II Additional Sessions Judge, Ghazipur in sessions Trial Nos. 282 and 337 of 1980. Vijay Yadav, Umesh Kumar Sinha and Ram Pravesh alias Pankhia alias Ganesh were tried in Sessions Trial No. 282 of 1980 and Surendra Kumar singh in Sessions Trial No. 337 of 1980. All the four have been convicted under Section 396 i. P. C. and sentenced to life imprisonment.
( 2 ) WE propose to decide the two appeals by this common judgment. The appellants in Criminal appeal No. 152 of 1982 are Vijay Yadav and Ram Pravesh alias Pankhia alias Ganesh whereas surendra Kumar Singh and Umesh Kumar Sinha are the appellants in connected Criminal appeal No. 153 of 1982. At the hearing of the appeal, none appeared from the side of the appellants, though the appellants of Criminal Appeal No 152 of 1982 are represented on record by Sri Gajendra Pratap. Advocate. The appellants of Criminal Appeal No. 153 of 1982 are represented on record by Sri Narendra Kumar, Advocate. We are deciding the appeals on merits after hearing learned A. G. A. and going through the record as per the dictum of the Supreme court in the case of Bani Singh v. State of U. P. (AIR 1996 SC 243 ).
( 3 ) THE incident took place in between the night of 13/14. 4. 1980 at about 1 Oclock in second class Bogie No. 5632 SLR 7 Up Toofan Express between Dildarnagar and Jamania Railway stations within G. R. P. Circle Mughalsarai. The F. I. R. was lodged on 14. 4. 1980 at 4. 10 A. M. by gulab Yadav PW 1 and entry in G. D. was made by Head Constable Ganga Dayal Singh PW 14 as case crime No. 99 under Section 396 I. P. C. at Police Station G. R. P. Mughalsarai.
( 4 ) AS per the prosecution case, Sattar (deceased), Liyakat (deceased), Modeen PW 2, Ishhaq PW 3, Jahoor, Farid and Sharif, residents of Koshikalan (Mathura) were cattle merchants. After selling cattle in Cattle Fair at Bihata Bazar in Bihar, they were returning home with good amount of money which was with Sattar (deceased ). After the occurrence, currency notes of Rs. 61,850/were recovered by the police from near the dead bodies of Sattar and Liyakat on 14. 4. 1980 at mughalsarai Railway Station. The train in question was boarded by the above persons at Bihata railway Station at about 9. 30 P. M. on 13. 4. 1980. It appears that their return with money was scented by the accused appellants and their other two companions who had also boarded the same compartment at Railway Station, Bihata with these businessmen. The compartment was over crowded. Some passengers were standing in the aisle. These businessmen sat in the aisle (gallery with their belongings. There was light of electric bulb in the gallery of the compartment. Since the businessmen were carrying money, they carefully observed their six fellow passengers who boarded the same compartment and who stood near them. The train stooped at Dildarnagar railway Station at about 12. 50 A. M. One or two minutes after the movement of the train from dildarnagar Railway Station, six persons who had boarded the compartment alongwith these businessmen, stood up near them. Two of them (Ram Pravesh alias Pankhia alias Ganesh and surendra accused appellants) were holding contrymade pistols which they placed upon the chests of Liyakat and Sattar and asked them to hand over whatever they had or to face pistol shots. They, however, succeeded in snatching the pistols from those two miscreants and caught them by their hands after a scuffle, but the other four miscreants got their two companions released from the grip of Liyakat and Sattar. After getting themselves released, these two asked the other four companions to hand over grenades to them so that they could kill Liyakat and Sattar. Their companions were having bags. One of them (Ram Pravesh alias Pankhia alias Ganesh) took grenades (countrymade bomds) from the bag and threw 2-3 grenades tow
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