Suspension of sentence granted due to critical evidence deficiencies and lack of eyewitness in the case.

CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJEEV RANJAN PRASAD and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SHAILENDRA SINGH ORAL ORDER (Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJEEV RANJAN PRASAD)

3 05-01-2026 Heard learned counsel for the appellants and learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.

2. Records have been placed before this Court to consider the prayers of the appellants for suspension of their sentence and release on bail during pendency of the appeal.

3. The appellants have been convicted vide judgment dated 05.02.2025 and sentenced vide order dated 15.02.2025 by learned 5^th Additional Sessions Judge, Muzaffarpur in Sessions Trial No. 39 of 2023 arising out of Paroo P.S. Case No. 424 of 2021 for the offences punishable under Sections 341 , 323 and

302/34 of the Indian Penal Code (in short ‘IPC’). The appellants have been ordered to suffer rigorous imprisonment for life with a fine of Rs. 20,000/- each for the offence under Section 302 /34 of IPC and in default of payment of fine, they shall further undergo imprisonment for a period of one year each. They have been further sentenced to undergo imprisonment for one month for the offence under Section 341 of IPC and they have been further sentenced to undergo imprisonment for one year for the offence under Section 323 of IPC. All the sentences have been ordered to run concurrently.

4. The appellants are husband and wife respectively. Appellant No. 1 is the cousin brother of the informant. 5. The prosecution story is based on the fardbeyan of Dinesh Bhagat, (PW-5) who has alleged that on 02.10.2021 at about 5:00 a.m., the deceased Sanju Devi was assaulted on a village pathway by accused Vinod Bhagat, Vinod Bhagat’s wife, Ram Surat Bhagat (appellant No.1) and Anita Devi (appellant No. 2) over a trivial obstruction. The accused, acting in furtherance of their common intention, abused and assaulted her causing her to fall unconscious and Anita Devi snatched her Mangalsutra. Despite intervention by the informant’s father, the accused threatened him and fled on arrival of villagers. The victim later succumbed to her injuries during treatment at Pulse Hospital, Muzaffarpur. The incident arose from prior enmity and refusal to compromise.

6. Learned counsel for the appellants submits that on bare perusal of the fardbeyan of PW-5, it would appear that he is not an eyewitness of the occurrence. He was at Ahmadabad and was informed about the occurrence by his father, PW-4, only on the next day i.e., on 03.10.2021 at about 9:00 am whereafter he arrived on 03.10.2021 at 4:00 p.m. In this regard, the attention of this Court has been drawn towards paragraph ‘21’ of the deposition of PW-4.

7. Learned counsel for the appellants further submits that even as PW-5 has claimed that his father, PW-4, has seen the occurrence but PW-4 has stated that he came to the place of occurrence only after hearing the shouts of the deceased Sanju Devi and had found Sanju Devi bleeding from her eyes, mouth and nose. In his examination-in-chief, PW-4 has claimed that he had taken Sanju Devi to hospital but as the papers were being prepared at the gate of the hospital, Sanju Devi died. It is submitted that from this statement of PW-4 it is evident that Sanju Devi died on 02.10.2021 itself. PW-4 has stated in paragraph ‘11’ that Sanju Devi was not treated by any doctor.

He has stated that he had informed police about the occurrence at 6:00 a.m., but this first information given by PW-4 to the Paroo Police Station at 6:00 a.m., has not been brought on record by the prosecution.

8. Learned counsel further submits that the fardbeyan of the PW-5 was recorded only on 03.10.2021 at 1:20 p.m., whereafter the postmortem of the dead body was conducted and the doctor found only one injury, i.e., lacerated wound 1” X ½” on below right eyebrow. The doctor opined that the deceased died due to hemorrhage and shock due to the said injury. Injury caused by hard and blunt object. It is submitted that in his cross- examination doctor has stated that such inj