IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CRIMINAL APPEAL (SJ) No.68 of 2014 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-58 Year-1994 Thana- LAKHISARAI District- Lakhisarai ======================================================

1. Sukhdeo Yadav, S/o Late Dila Yadav, 2. Bijay Yadav

3. Ajay Yadav, Both are sons of Sukhdeo Yadav, All Resident of Village-

Dharhisir, P.S.- Chanan, District- Lakhisarai ... ... Appellant/s Versus The State of Bihar ... ... Respondent/s ======================================================

Appearance :

For the Appellant/s : Mr. Sidharth Harsh, Amicus Curiae For the State : Mr. Abhay Kumar, APP ======================================================

CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SHAILENDRA SINGH

ORAL JUDGMENT

Date : 18-02-2026 The instant appeal has been preferred by the appellants against the judgment of conviction dated 15.01.2014 and the order of sentence dated 16.01.2014 passed by the Court of the learned Adhoc Additional District & Sessions Judge-V, Lakhisarai, in Sessions Case. No. 212 of 1996 arising out of Lakhisarai Chanan P.S. Case No. 58 of 1994, whereby and whereunder the appellants have been convicted for the offence punishable under Section 365 of the Indian Penal Code (in short, “IPC”). The appellants have been sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for three years with a fine of Rs. 500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) to each for the offence punishable under Section 365 of the IPC. In default of payment of fine, they have been directed to undergo imprisonment for three months additionally.

Prosecution Story:

2. The substance of the prosecution story, as appearing from the FIR, is as follows:

The informant, Jagdeo Yadav, gave his fardbeyan at Chanan Police Station on 02.03.1994, alleging that a she-buffalo of appellant No. 1, Sukhdeo Yadav, had died due to some disease, but he suspected that it had been killed by the appellants. The informant further alleged that on 01.03.1994, when his brother, Ram Balak Yadav (the victim), was at his residence (dera) situated on the north-western side of the village at about 7:00–7:30 PM, all the accused persons/appellants came, abducted his brother, and handed him over to other criminals. Upon hearing his brother’s alarm, the informant, along with his family members and other villagers, reached at the place of occurrence but did not find his brother there. The informant alleged that the accused persons/appellants had taken away his brother due to enmity arising out of a previous land dispute.

3. The informant recorded his fardbeyan on

02.03.1994 at Chanan Police Station and detailed the above- mentioned incident. Upon that basis, the formal FIR bearing Chanan P.S. Case No. 58 of 1994 was registered for the offence punishable under Section 364 read with section 34 of the IPC, which set the criminal law in motion.

4. After completion of the investigation, the appellants were charge-sheeted.

5. After cognizance of the alleged offence, the learned Magistrate committed the case of the appellants to the Court of Sessions for trial. The appellants namely, Bijay Yadav, Ajay Yadav and Sukhdeo Yadav, stood charged for the offence under Section 364 of the IPC. The said charge was read over and explained in Hindi to the appellants by the trial court, to which they pleaded not guilty and claimed to be tried.

6. During the trial, the prosecution examined altogether nine witnesses who are as under :-

7. In addition to the above mentioned ocular evidence, the prosecution proved and exhibited the following documents in documentary evidence :-

Ext-1 The signature of the informant on the fardbeyan Ext-1/1 The signature of the victim on his statement recorded under section 164 of Cr.P.C.

8. After the completion of the prosecution evidence, the statements of the appellants were recorded under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (in short, ‘Cr.P.C.’) by the trial court. The appellants denied the material circumstances appearing against them from the prosecution evidence; however, they did not take any