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2014 Supreme(All) 234
ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT
Sheo Kumar Singh, Vinod Prasad, JJ.
Purshottam Singh and others -Appellant
Versus
State of U. P. -Respondent
Criminal Appeal No. 3029 of 1986
Decided On : 29-01-2014
Counsel for the Appellants : A. C. Chaturvedi, A. R. B. Kher, pt. S. S. Tewari and Patanjali Mishra (AC).
Counsel for the Respondent: A.G.A., Krishna Kumar Dubey.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the standard of proof beyond all reasonable doubt required for conviction in a criminal case.
Headnote:
Conviction - Murder - Section 302, I.P.C. - Section 323, I.P.C. - [Section 302, Section 323] - The court found the appellants guilty of murder under Section 302, I.P.C. and sentenced them to life imprisonment. A-3 and A-4 were convicted under Section 323, I.P.C. and sentenced to 1 year R.I. The court concluded that the prosecution established the guilt of the appellants beyond all reasonable doubt.
Fact of the Case:
The case involved a dispute between the appellants and the informant over a pending high court litigation. The incident occurred when the appellants assaulted the informant and his brother, resulting in the death of the brother. The prosecution alleged that the appellants had a strong motive to commit the crime due to the pending civil litigation.
Finding of the Court:
The court found the prosecution's version to be true based on the testimonies of the fact witnesses and medical evidence. The court rejected the defense's contention that the informant was the real assailant and concluded that the appellants were the perpetrators of the crime.
Issues: The main issue was whether the appellants were guilty of the murder and assault charges brought against them. The court also considered the motive behind the crime and the promptness of the FIR registration.
Ratio Decidendi: The court relied on the consistent testimonies of the fact witnesses, medical evidence, and the prompt registration of the FIR to establish the guilt of the appellants beyond all reasonable doubt.
Final Decision: The appeal lacked merit and was dismissed. A-3 and A-4 were acquitted of the murder charge but convicted under Section 323, I.P.C. A-l and A-2 were held guilty of murder under Section 302, I.P.C. and sentenced to life imprisonment. The appellants were directed to be taken into custody to serve out the sentence.
This appeal by the four appellants herein namely Purshottam Singh A-l, Dinesh Singh A-2, Narottam Singh A-3 and Surendra Singh A-4 is directed against the impugned judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated!4.11.1986, whereby IVth Additional Sessions Judge, Jhansi has convicted A-l and A-2 for offence under Section 302, I.P.C. and has sentenced them to serve life imprisonment, and A-3 and A-4 have been convicted under Section 323, I.P.C. and have been sentenced to 1 year R.I recorded in S.T. No. 173 of 1985, State v. Purshottam Singh and others.
2. Background facts, as are discernible from the F.I.R. and testimonies of fact witnesses, informant Hari Singh P.W. 1, Mool Chand P.W. 2 and Balak Das P.W. 3, are that three of appellants A-l, A-2 'and A-3 are uterine real sibling brothers being sons of Narain Singh, whereas A-4 is the son of A-l. On 13.8.1985 at 8.30 p.m., informant P.W. 1 Hari Singh was sitting alongwith his younger brother Om Prakash on an erected pedestal in front of his house and both were having conversations about pending high court litigation. Meanwhile A-3 and A-4 arrived at that spot and intimated both of them. When informant proscribed and objected to their rankled act A-4 armed with iron rod started assaulting the informant followed by A-3 who wielded a club. When the younger brother Om Prakash (deceased) tried to intervene and save the informant then all of a sudden A-l and A-2, both armed with knives appeared at the scene and started stabbing Om Prakash. Meanwhile, witnesses Mool Chand, Balak Das and many others collected at the spot on which, accused scampered away from the incident scene through a damaged wall. Motive behind the assault was a pending litigation since last one and half decades between the informant and the appellants. After dispatching the injured to the hospital that the informant/P.W. 1 came to police station Kotwali, District Jhansi, at a distance of 1-1/2 Kms. where he orally dictated incident F.I.R. Exhibit Ka-1, which was registered the same day at 9.05 p.m. by Head Mohrir Shiv Ram as crime number vide rapat No. 39, by preparing chik F.I.R. and G.D. entry Exhibit Ka-17.
3. S.I. Yogendra Singh Chauhan P.W. 7 in whose presence the offence was registered commenced investigation into the crime, recorded informant's statement and thereafter came to District Hospital, Jhansi where he took in possession the attires of the injured Om Prakash and prepared it's recovery memo Exhibit Ka-6. Spot inspection was conducted and site plan Ka-8 was sketched. Blood stained and plain bricks were collected and recovery memo Exhibit Ka-7 thereof was prepared. Thereafter, statement of witness Mool Chand was recorded.Constables Satendra Singh and Brijendra Kumar informed the Investigating Officer regarding demise of the deceased and, therefore, Investigating Officer came to medical college where he performed inquest on the cadaver of the deceased and slated inquest memo Exhibit Ka-9 and other relevant papers photo lash, challan lash, form No. 13, seal impression etc., which documents are Exhibits Ka-10 to 15. Investigating Officer/P.W. 7 thereafter copied medical examination report of the informant Hari Singh. Demise of injured Om Prakash resulted in conversion of crime under Section 302, I.P.C., on 14.8.1995 at 8.55 p.m. vide rapat No. 11 and G.D. entry thereof was made by H. M. Ram Gopal. which is Exhibit Ka-18. The said Head Mohanir had also copied the supplementary report the same day at 10.15 p.m. and had prepared it's G.D., which is Exhibit Ka-19. Further, investigation into the crime was conducted by Nathu Singh P.W. 6, who recorded the statements of A-l and A-4 on 23.8.85. A-3 was arrested on 26.8.85 and his statement was recorded. On 5.9.85, statement of witness Balak Das Exhibit Ka-5 and that of inquest witnesses were penned down. Wrapping up the investigation charge-sheet Exhibit Ka-4 was forwarded against all the accused-appellants on 8.9.1985.
4. Injured informant/P.W.
