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IN THE HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
MANOJ MISRA, SANJAY KUMAR PACHORI, JJ.
Keshav Singh @ Kesho – Appellant
Versus
State of U.P. – Respondent
Criminal Appeal Nos. 7424, 7517, 8378 of 2008
Decided On : 18-12-2020
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 – Sections 313, 437 – Indian Penal Code, 1860 – Sections 34, 302, 120, 506 – Arms Act – Section 25 – Illegal Arms – Present appeals are filed against the judgment and order passed by Additional Sessions Judge, Court No. 2 Mathura, in Sessions Trial by which the appellants Keshav Singh @ Kesho, Bhuri Singh @ Bhura, Surendra Singh and Jagdish Singh have been convicted for the offences punishable under section 302 Indian Penal Code and the appellant Ghanshyam for the offence punishable under section 302 read with section 120-B I.P.C. – In addition thereto, the appellants Keshav Singh @ Kesho and Bhuri Singh @ Bhura have also been convicted for the offence punishable under section 25 Arms Act. – The punishment awarded to the appellants for their conviction noticed above is as follows; imprisonment for life with a fine of Rs. 5,000/- each and default sentence of six months additional imprisonment under section 302 I.P.C. and section 302 read with section 120-B I.P.C. one year’s rigorous imprisonment with fine of Rs. 500/- each and default sentence one-month additional imprisonment for section 25 Arms Act.
Finding of the court:
Court is of the considered opinion that the trial court rightly found the evidence of the eyewitnesses PW-1 Balveer Singh, PW-2 Smt. Guddi Devi and PW-4 Devendra Singh, worthy of acceptance so as to hold that the prosecution successfully proved that on 19.7.2005 at 6.30 a.m. the appellants Keshav Singh @ Kesho, Bhuri Singh @ Bhura, Surendra Singh and Jagdish Singh fired gunshots at Ranveer Singh, from their firearms at the Khadanja, in front of the house of Ghanshyam, which resulted in his death on the spot. – The finding of the trial court to that extant is based on proper appreciation of the evidence. – Therefore, we affirm the conviction and sentence awarded to the appellants Keshav Singh @ Kesho, Bhuri Singh @ Bhura, Surendra Singh and Jagdish Singh and hold them guilty for offence punishable under section 302 read with section 34 I.P.C. – However, as already discussed above the appellant Ghanshyam is entitled to be acquitted and is hereby acquitted of the charge of criminal conspiracy to commit murder. – Appellants Ghanshyam, Surendra Singh, and Jagdish Singh are on bail, therefore, their personal bonds and sureties are hereby cancelled. – The appellants Surendra Singh, and Jagdish Singh are hereby directed to surrender before the trial court forthwith, failing which the learned Sessions Judge concerned shall take prompt steps to put the appellants Surendra Singh, and Jagdish Singh back in jail to undergo the sentence awarded to them by the trial court as affirmed above. – The appellant Ghanshyam need not surrender but shall fulfill the requirement of section 437-A Cr.P.C. to the satisfaction of the trial Court at the earliest.
Result: – Appeal Partly Allowed
JUDGMENT :
SANJAY KUMAR PACHORI, J.
1. The present appeals are filed against the judgment and order passed by Additional Sessions Judge, Court No. 2 Mathura, on 22.10.2008 in Sessions Trial No. 637 of 2005 by which the appellants Keshav Singh @ Kesho, Bhuri Singh @ Bhura, Surendra Singh and Jagdish Singh have been convicted for the offences punishable under section 302 Indian Penal Code (I.P.C.) and the appellant Ghanshyam for the offence punishable under section 302 read with section 120-B I.P.C. In addition thereto, the appellants Keshav Singh @ Kesho and Bhuri Singh @ Bhura have also been convicted for the offence punishable under section 25 Arms Act. The punishment awarded to the appellants for their conviction noticed above is as follows; imprisonment for life with a fine of Rs. 5,000/- each and default sentence of six months additional imprisonment under section 302 I.P.C. and section 302 read with section 120-B I.P.C. one year’s rigorous imprisonment with fine of Rs. 500/- each and default sentence one-month additional imprisonment for section 25 Arms Act. The sentences were directed to run concurrently.
PROSECUTION CASE
2. Prosecution case in brief, as could be elicited from the FIR lodged by Balveer (PW-1), is that the appellants Ghanshyam, Keshav Singh @ Kesho, Bhuri Singh @ Bhura, Surendra Singh and Jagdish Singh had enmity with informant’s brother Ranveer Singh (deceased) as they suspected that Ranveer Singh had informed the police about Ghanshyam's illegal arms factory, which was seized by the police on 10.6.2005. Due to this enmity, on 19.7.2005, at about 6.30 a.m. while Ranveer Singh was going to his Nauhara along with his wife Smt. Guddi Devi (PW-2) and daughter Asha (not examined), when he reached in front of the house of Ghanshyam, the appellants Keshav Singh, Bhuri Singh, Surendra Singh, and Jagdish Singh, ambushed him and fired shots at Ranveer Singh by rifle and unlicensed pistols. On receiving gunshot injuries, Ranveer Singh died at the spot. Hearing the gunshots, Hakim Singh (not examined) and Devendra Singh (PW-4) arrived at the spot. The appellants threatened them and fled away from the spot. According to the prosecution, Ghanshyam Singh had hatched the conspiracy to murder Ranveer Singh and, before the incident, he and other accused-appellants had threatened the informant.
3. The First Information Report [F.I.R.] dated 19.7.2005 (Ex.Ka-3) had been registered under section 302, 506, 120-B I.P.C. against the appellants at Police Station- Baldev, District Mathura at 7.15 a.m. by Balveer Singh (PW-1). The distance between the place of occurrence and Police Station is 14 KM. The special report (SR Report) of the present case had been sent to the Magistrate on the same day at 8.30 a.m. PW-6 Sub-Inspector [S.I.] B.R. Zaidi, after receiving a telephonic information reached the place of occurrence at around 7.00 a.m. during the investigation, he recovered two used cartridges (which were .315 and .12 bore) and blood-stained earth and plain earth from the place of the incident, the proceeding of the inquest had been completed at 10.30 a.m. The body of the deceased was sent for autopsy with other police papers (Ex.Ka-11 to Ex.Ka-14).
4. PW-3 Dr. B.D. Bhaskar conducted the post-mortem examination of the body of the deceased on 20.7.2005 at 1.30 p.m. and opined that the cause of death was “shock and haemorrhage due to ante-mortem injuries.” The post-mortem (Ex.Ka-2) disclosed presence of 6 ante-mortem injuries on the corpse of Ranveer Singh. These are as under:
(1) Wound of entry of firearm size 0.5 cm x 0.5 cm x cavity deep present on the left side outer aspects lower chest, 17 cm below of left nipple at 5 O' clock position.
(2) Wound of exit of firearm size 2 cm x 3 cm x cavity deep present on back of right side chest lower part 3 cm away from mid line connected with injury no. 1.
(3) Wound of entry of firearm size 01 cm x 01 cm x cavity deep present on the right side forearm just below the elbow joint (Right) anterior as
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