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IN THE HIGH COURT OF TRIPURA, AGARTALA
DEEPAK GUPTA, S.C. DAS, JJ.
Sri Tukan Sharma - Appellant
Vs.
The State of Tripura - Respondent
Crl.A(J) Nos.4, 11 of 2014
Decided on : 05-04-2016
In a case involving the murder of Gopi Mohan Das, the appellants, Nani Kanta Das and Tukan Sharma, were convicted under Sections 448 and 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The prosecution's case was that the appellants, armed with a dao and a lathi, respectively, entered the house of Bidhu Bhushan Das, where Gopi Mohan was hiding, and brutally assaulted him, causing his death. The appellants denied the charges and claimed that they were falsely implicated.
Fact of the Case:
On the intervening night of 12th and 13th May 2012, the informant, Bidhu Bhushan Das, and his family were sleeping in their house when they were awakened by cries of "thief, thief." The appellants, Nani Kanta Das and Tukan Sharma, entered the house, searched for the thief, and found Gopi Mohan Das in an abandoned kitchen hut. They assaulted him with a dao and a lathi, causing severe injuries that led to his death. The appellants then fled the scene.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The eyewitnesses, including Bidhu Bhushan Das, his wife Basanti Das, and their daughter Bhanumati Das, consistently testified that they saw the appellants assaulting Gopi Mohan. The court also relied on the evidence of other witnesses who testified about hearing cries of "thief, thief" and seeing the appellants fleeing the scene. The court further found that the recovery of the murder weapon, a dao, from the house of Nani Kanta Das's brother corroborated the prosecution's case.
Issues: 1. Whether the prosecution had proved the guilt of the appellants beyond a reasonable doubt. 2. Whether the eyewitnesses' testimony was reliable. 3. Whether the recovery of the murder weapon corroborated the prosecution's case.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the prosecution had proved the guilt of the appellants beyond a reasonable doubt. The eyewitnesses' testimony was found to be consistent and reliable, and the recovery of the murder weapon corroborated the prosecution's case. The court also rejected the appellants' defense that they were falsely implicated.
Final Decision: The court dismissed the appeals and upheld the convictions and sentences of the appellants.
S.C. Das, J.
Both the appeals are directed against a single judgment and order of conviction and sentence dated 19.12.2013 passed by learned Sessions Judge, North Tripura District, Kailashahar in Sessions Trial Case No.8(NT/K)2013, whereunder both the appellants were found guilty of the charges framed against them under Section 448 read with Section 34 of IPC and Section 302 read with Section 34 of IPC and the learned Sessions Judge by the impugned judgment and order sentenced them to suffer R.I. for six months for commission of offence punishable under Section 448 read with Section 34 of IPC and for commission of offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of IPC to suffer R.I. for life and to pay a fine of Rs.5,000/- in default of payment to suffer further R.I. for six months.
2. Heard learned senior counsel, Mr. P.K. Biswas, assisted by learned counsel, Mr. P. Majumder for the appellant, Nani Kanta Das of Crl.A.(J) No.11 of 2014 and learned counsel, Mr. P. Roy Barman for the appellant, Tukan Sharma of Crl.A.(J) No.4 of 2014. This common judgment is passed in respect of both the appeals.
3. Prosecution case is that on the intervening night of 12.05.2012 and 13.05.2012 at about 12.30 A.M., the informant Bidhu Bhushan Das(PW-1) with his other family members were sleeping in his residential hut at village South Chandipur, P.S. Kailashahar and at that time he and his family members woke up hearing alarm raised by some people, “thief thief”. Someone knocked on the door of his hut and after lighting a kerosene lamp Bidhu Bhushan Das(hereinafter mentioned as Bidhu) and his wife, Basanti Das(PW-2) came out of the hut and found the accused appellant, Nani Kanta Das with a dao in one hand and a torchlight in other hand and accused Tukan Sharma with a lathi in hand and they asked Bidhu that the thief entered in his hut but Bidhu denied and then both the accused entered in his residential hut and made a search for the thief but did not found anybody. Thereafter both the accused made a search in his abandoned kitchen hut of Bidhu and found a person alleged to be the thief there and they started inflicting dao and lathi blows on that person inside that abandoned hut to which Bidhu and his wife tried to resist the accused persons but they threatened him and in the meantime many people from the neighbourhood gathered and one Jyotish Das(PW-3), a co-villager restrained the accused persons from assaulting Bidhu and thereafter the accused persons left the place. It was a dark night. Many people gathered there and they found the person who was assaulted by Nani and Tukan, lying dead in a pool of blood in the abandoned kitchen hut of Bidhu and he was identified as Gopi Mohan Das, a teacher by profession of that village and in the meantime the mother and sister of Gopi Mohan also arrived and identified dead body of Gopi Mohan Das. It is the case of the prosecution that Gopi Mohan died an instantaneous death on the spot itself.
Many people arrived in the house of Bidhu and it is the case of the prosecution that Bidhu and his wife Basanti narrated the occurrence of assault by accused Nani Kanta Das and Tukan Sharma on the deceased Gopi Mohan Das to all those witnesses.
PW-9 Arup Ratan Das, who arrived at the spot hearing the alarm, over telephone informed Kailashahar P.S. about the occurrence and SI Lakhyabir Jamatia(PW-22) recorded G.D. Entry No.551 dated 13.05.2012 at 0145 hrs. in the Kailashahar P.S. on the basis of the telephonic information given by PW-9 and the copy of that G.D. made by PW-22 has been proved as Exbt.10. Immediately thereafter by making G.D. No.553, SDPO along with other police officers including PW-23 Nakul Debbarma, SI of Police, went to the spot and at that time as asked by the police PW-9 Arup Ratan Das wrote an FIR as per statement of Bidhu, addressing Officer Incharge of Kailashahar P.S. which was signed by Bidhu and it was handed over to SI Nirmal Kanti Das of the police party, who arrived there and PW-2
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