Point of Law:
It is well settled that interested evidence is not necessarily unreliable evidence. Even partisanship by itself is not a valid ground for discrediting or rejecting sworn testimony. Nor can it be laid down as an invariable rule that interested evidence can never form the basis of conviction unless corroborated to a material extent in material particulars by independent evidence. All that is necessary is that the evidence of interested witnesses should be subjected to careful scrutiny and accepted with caution. If on such scrutiny, the interested testimony is found to be intrinsically reliable or inherently probable, it may, by itself, be sufficient, in the circumstances of the particular case, to base a conviction thereon.

JUDGMENT :

Pankaj Bhatia, J.

1. The present appeal has been filed by as many as five appellants against the judgment and order dated 10.9.1991 passed by the Sessions Judge, Pilibhit in Sessions Trial No. 210 of 1983, whereby the appellants were convicted under: Sections 302/149 ; 307/149; and 148 I.P.C. and punished as under: life imprisonment under Sections 302/149 I.P.C.; 5 years R.I. under Sections 307/149 I.P.C.; and 3 years R.I. under Section 148 I.P.C. with direction that all the sentences shall run concurrently.

2. During the pendency of the appeal, Appellant No.1 (Harnam Singh); Appellant No.2 (Babu Singh); Appellant No.3 (Nathu Singh); and Appellant No.4 (Surajpal Singh) died. Hence, their appeal was abated vide order dated 29.01.2019. The appeal of Appellant No.5 (Jogendra Singh) survives.

3. The prosecution case in the first information report (F.I.R.) was that around four years ago, Puttu Singh and Rakshpal Singh (also known as Mula Thakur), relatives of the appellants, were murdered, in which nine persons were made accused. The informant (Ram Bhajan – PW2) and his brother Nand Lal (PW1) were also accused in that case. However, the informant and three other persons were acquitted whereas Nand Lal (PW1) and five others were convicted in that case. Since then there had been strong enmity between the family of the accused-appellants and the informant. After narrating the above background, it is stated that on 28.5.1983, the informant (PW2); his uncle Kallu (the deceased); and Nand Lal (PW-1) had gone to jungle to collect thatch material for the ‘Chhappar’. While they were on their way back, at about sun-set, near Barhepura canal, the accused Harnam Singh (Appellant No.1) armed with rifle; and Surajpal Singh (Appellant No.4), both sons of Puttu Singh, armed with S.B.B.L. gun emerged from the bushes on the north side of the canal, near the culvert of the Barhepura canal, whereas, from the southern side bushes, Nathu Singh and Babu Singh, both sons of Umrai Singh, armed with S.B.B.L. Guns, and surviving appellant-Jogender Singh, son of Puttu Singh, armed with Tamancha, came out and challenged the informant (PW2), Kallu (deceased) and Nand Lal (PW1) saying that today they would take revenge for the death of Puttu and Mula. It was alleged that all the five persons with an intent to kill fired, in which, Kallu (the deceased) sustained 3 to 4 gun-shots and Nand Lal (PW1) sustained two gun-shot injuries. It was alleged that Kallu fell down and slipped into the canal whereas Nand Lal (PW1) and the informant (PW2) managed to jump into the canal and they ran in opposite directions to save their lives. It was stated that Nand Lal (PW-1) waded across the canal and ran away towards the sugar-cane field and was chased by the accused and a shot also hit him on the back but by running into the sugarcane field he could save his life. On the other hand, the informant (PW-2) saved his life by running towards the village Orajhar where he came to the house of Nathu Lal Gangwar and requested him to accompany him to the police station to lodge the F.I.R., however, as it had turn dark, on account of fear, they could not muster courage to immediately lodge the report. It is stated in the FIR that in the morning when it was revealed by the villagers of Orajhar that the brother of the informant, namely, Nand Lal (PW1) is alive and hiding in the sugar-cane fields in an injured condition, Nand Lal was brought from the sugar-cane field to the village and there they were told that the body of Kallu was lying tagged on a ‘Khunta’ towards south of the culvert. Where after, the body was taken out and kept on the western Patri of the canal. The FIR (Ex. Ka-1) was lodged on 29.5.1983 at about 9:15 A.M. at P.S. Bilsanda, District Pilibhit.

4. On the basis of the report (Ex. Ka-1), Chik F.I.R. (Ex. Ka-4) was taken down at the police station and a case was registered vide G.D. entry (Ex. Ka-5). The Investigating Officer V.P.S. Rawat (PW-4), who was allegedly bus