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2013 Supreme(All) 1257
ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT
Amar Saran, Aditya Nath Mittal, JJ.
All Mohd. -Appellant
Versus
State of U.P. -Respondent
Criminal (Capital) Appeal No. 6632 of 2011
Decided On : 03-05-2013
Mohd. Shabbir, Ali Mohd., Arun Kumar Tiwari, V. M. Sharma, Raja Ullah Khan, for Appellants
A.G. A., R. K. Singh, Km. Meena, Anand Tewari, for Respondent.
The mental condition of the accused, lack of premeditation, and absence of motive can be considered in determining the appropriate sentence for a crime.
Headnote:
Murder - Criminal Appeal - Sections 302, 449 I.P.C., Section 27 Arms Act
Fact of the Case:
The appellant was convicted for the murder of three persons and awarded death sentence. The incident involved the appellant shooting the victims with a licensed revolver following a dispute, resulting in the death of the victims.
Finding of the Court:
The court found the appellant guilty of the offences punishable under Sections 302, 449 I.P.C. and Section 27 Arms Act. The death penalty was converted into a sentence of life imprisonment, with all sentences to run concurrently.
Issues: The court considered the evidence presented, including witness testimonies, medical reports, and forensic evidence. The defense argued for false implication and mental disturbance of the appellant.
Ratio Decidendi: The court considered the mental condition of the appellant, lack of premeditation, and absence of motive, leading to the decision to convert the death penalty into a sentence of life imprisonment.
Final Decision: The conviction of the appellant for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 449 I.P.C. and Section 27 Arms Act was upheld, with the death penalty converted into a sentence of life imprisonment. The appeal was partly allowed.
1. This criminal appeal has been filed against the judgment and order dated 24.10.2011 passed by Additional Sessions Judge (E.C.P.) Court No.26, District Shahjahanpur in Session Trial No.305 of 2007, under Sections 302, 449 I.P.C. and Section 27 Arms Act by which the appellant has been convicted and has been awarded death sentence along with fine for the offence punishable under Section 302 I.P.C.
2. As per prosecution case, on 8.1.2007, when the father of the complainant Mohd. Noor, real uncle Mohd. Asfaq, younger brother Mohd. Naim and maternal uncle Sajeed Ali and Mubarak Ali were engaged in talks upon an open plot then at about 03:30 in the evening, family uncle Ali Mohd. (the appellant) came with his licensee revolver and due to quarrel in between the children, fired on Noor Mohd on his skull. The uncle of the complainant namely Mohd. Asfaq tried to run away from the spot upon whom also the fire was opened and both of them fell down on the earth. After it the appellant tried to kill the complainant and his brother who tried to run away towards their home and then by entering into the home the appellant shot down his mother namely Zubeda. After the incident, the accused terrorised the area and had climbed over the water tank. The complainant while taking his mother and father to the hospital, his mother expired on the way. The father was admitted to District Hospital and uncle was admitted to the hospital of Dr. Waseem. The F.I.R. was lodged on the same day at 17:30 O'clock upon which a case at Crime No.17 of 2007, under Sections 302, 452, 307 I.P.C., Section 27 of Arms Act and Section 7 of Criminal Law Amendment Act was registered at Police Station Kotwali, District Shahjahanpur.
3. After investigation, the charge-sheet was filed for the offences punishable under Sections 452, 302, 307, 327 I.P.C. and Section 27 Arms Act. After committal proceedings, the charges for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 307, 449, 326, 304 I.P.C. and Section 27 Arms Act were framed and upon death of Mohd. Asfaq, the charge was altered to Section 302 I.P.C. The appellant had denied all the charges and claimed trial.
4. The prosecution has examined Mohd. Mobin (P.W.-1) who is complainant, Mubarak Ali (P.W.-2) who is eye witness, Dr. K.V. Jain (P.W.-3) who has conducted post-mortem of Mohd. Noor and Smt. Zubeda Bano, Dr. M.P. Gangwar, who has conducted post-mortem of Asfaq (P.W.-4), Dr. Waseem Khan (P.W.-5) who had treated Asfaq, S.I. Om Prakash Pathak (P.W.-6) who had prepared the inquest report of Mohd. Noor and Zubeda Bano, Tripurari Diwakar (P.W.-7) who has conducted the investigation, S.I. Raj Narayan Dubey (P.W.-8) who has prepared the inquest report of Asfaq and H.M. Dharmpal Singh (P.W.-9), who has scribed the chick F.I.R. and General Diary. After prosecution evidence, the statement of accused was recorded under Section 313 Cr.P.C. in which he had denied the incident and the defence was taken that there was a family dispute and the deceased and his son intended to take forcible possession upon his house, therefore, he has been falsely implicated. In defence evidence Afaq Ali Khan, D.W.-1 has been produced who is the scriber of the F.I.R.
5. After appreciating the evidence on record, learned Additional Sessions Judge came to the conclusion that charges regarding offences punishable under Sections 302, 449 I.P.C. and Section 27 Arms Act are proved beyond any doubt and because the accused is being convicted for the offences punishable under Section 302 I.P.C., therefore, there was no need to punish him for the offences punishable under Sections 307, 326 and 304 I.P.C. Accordingly, after hearing the appellant on the point of sentence, he has been convicted for the offence punishable under Section 302 I.P.C. by capital punishment along with a fine of Rs.50,000/- and for the offence punishable under Section 449 I.P.C. by rigorous imprisonment of ten years along with fine of Rs.10,000/- and for the offence punishable
