[2025:RJ-JD:30442-DB]

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR D.B. Criminal Jail Appeal No. 148/1996 Lehru & Anr. ----Petitioner Versus State ----Respondent For Petitioner(s) : Mr. K.K. Shah For Respondent(s) : Mr. C.S. Ojha, PP HON'BLE DR. JUSTICE PUSHPENDRA SINGH BHATI HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUNIL BENIWAL

Judgment

Reserved on 10/07/2025 Pronounced on 19 /0 8 /2025 Per Dr. Pushpendra Singh Bhati, J:

1. The instant criminal jail appeal has been preferred by the accused-appellants against the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 31.01.1996 passed by the learned Additional District & Sessions Judge No.2, Chittorgarh, in Sessions Case No.168/94 (State of Rajasthan Vs. Shri Lehru & Anr.), whereby the accused-appellants have been convicted and sentenced as under:

Conviction u/s. Sentence & In Default of Fine payment of fine further undergo

302 r/w 34 of I.P.C. Life Imprisonment Two months’

alongwith fine of additional Rs.500/- imprisonment (each of the accused-appellants)

364 of I.P.C. Ten Years’ R.I. One & a half month’s alongwith fine of additional Rs.400/- imprisonment (each of the accused-appellants)

1.2. At the outset, it has been brought to the notice of this Court that accused-appellant No.1-Lehru had expired, as reflected in the order dated 24.01.2024, whereby, the instant appeal to the extent of the said deceased appellant was ordered to stand abated. Thus, the present appeal is surviving only qua surviving accused- appellant No.2-Shankar, and the present adjudication is being made accordingly.

2. The matter pertains to an incident which had occurred in the year 1994 and the present appeal has been pending since the year

1996.

3. Brief facts of this case, as noticed by this Court, are that on 24.09.1994, one Smt. Jamni (complainant) gave a verbal information to the SHO, Police Station Akola, stating therein that on the said date in the late night, while the complainant and her husband (Hajari) were sleeping, at around 2:30 a.m., accused- Lehru came to their house and asked the complainant’s husband for Beedi, whereupon her husband denied the same, on count of the fact that due to cough, it would not be possible to smoke Beedi. At that time, the complainant also came out and sat on the door of the house. Thereafter, accused-Shanker also came to the complainant’s house asked the complainant for drinking water, whereupon, the complainant refused to offer the same, while asking the said accused to have the water from the hand-pump.

3.1. As per the complainant, thereupon accused-Lehru get the water for accused-Shanker from the hand-pump, immediately thereafter, suddenly, accused-Shanker caught the hand of the complainant’s husband and started dragging him; accused-Lehru also caught the another hand of the complainant’s husband, while the dragging continued. The complainant tried to intervene, but the accused persons pushed her and she fell down, and due to such act of the accused-respondents, the complainant’s husband suffered injuries on legs, knees and calf of the right leg. The accused persons gave fists and kick blows to the complainant’s husband, and dragged him towards Rawaton Ka Mohalla. Thereupon, the complainant raised alarms, but due to a celebration in the Temple, no one could hear the same. During the course of the said act, the accused-appellants inflicted stone blows on the head of the complainant’s husband (Hajari), resulting into his head burst open, and thereupon, the accused-appellants fled from the spot. Thereafter, upon hearing the cries of the complainant, villagers, namely, Nagjiram and Homa reached the spot and found the complainant’s husband dead. The whole incident was narrated by the complainant to the said villagers.

3.2. On the basis of the aforesaid information, an FIR bearing No.163/94 was registered at Police Station, Akola for the offences under Sections 302/34 & 364 IPC, and the police started investigation in the matter and during the course whereof, the accused-appellants were arreste