REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.785 OF 2004

Abid

…..Appellant

Vs.

State of U.P.

….Respondent

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 786 OF 2004

Aggi & Ors.

…..Appellants

Vs.

State of U.P.

….Respondent

J U D G E M E N T

R.M. LODHA, J.

These two appeals by special leave arise out of

one and the same judgment rendered by the High Court of

Judicature at Allahabad whereby the criminal appeal preferred by

the present appellants came to be dismissed.

2.

Seven persons were sent up for trial to the 1^st Additional

Sessions Judge, Bahraich under Sections 147 and 302 read with

1

149 IPC. The trial court convicted all of them under Section 302

read with 149 IPC and sentenced them to life imprisonment. The

trial court also convicted the accused for the offence punishable

under Section 147 IPC and sentenced them to suffer nine months

rigorous imprisonment.

3.

The prosecution version is as follows:

Gheesey, Chhotey and Tojey are brothers. They resided

in village Bahbolia, Police Station Sonwa, district Bahraich. The

three brothers acquired about 15 bighas of agricultural land from

one Smt. Prana. They have divided the aforesaid land in share of 5

bigha each and came into possession of their respective share.

Sattar Khan (since deceased and hereinafter referred to as ‘D-1’)

and Sabir Khan (since deceased and hereinafter referred to as ‘D-2’)

claimed to have purchased from Gheesey his share in the

agricultural land in the month of January, 1980 alongwith the crops

sown thereon. On March 21, 1980, at about 8.00 A.M., D-1 and

D-2 visited the said agricultural land and found that Aggi (A-1), Jaijai

(A-2), Lakhan Pasi (A-3), Abid(A-4), Maqsood(A-5), Khalil (A-6) and

Ghulam (A-7) were harvesting the Arhar crop from that land. D-1

and D-2 asked them as to why they were harvesting the crop.

2

A-1 and A-2 replied that they had purchased the agricultural land

from Gheesey and being owners of that land, they were entitled to

harvest the crop. Then A-1and A-5 armed with ‘ballam’, A-3 and A-7

armed with ‘gadasa’ and A-2, A-4 and A-6 armed with ‘lathi’ started

attacking D-1 and D-2 with respective weapons. D-1 and D-2 raised

alarm. Peer Mohammad Khan (PW-1) and Maqsood Khan (PW-2)

who were few paces away from the scene rushed to the spot and

found that as a result of attack by A-1 to A-7, D-1 and D-2

sustained fatal injuries and died on the spot. The accused, having

seen PW-1 and PW-2 , fled away.

4.

PW-1 immediately, went to Police Station, Sonwa and

lodged the first information report at 11.30 A.M.. Sub-Inspector Sukh

Sagar Singh took up the investigation. He prepared the inquest

report and sent the bodies of D-1 and D-2 for post mortem. Dr. P.C.

Misra (PW-3) conducted post mortem on the body of D-2 on March

22, 1980. The post mortem of dead body of D-1 was conducted by

Dr. M. Shamim (PW-5) at about 4.30 P.M. on March 22, 1980.

5.

It appears that investigation into the crime changed

hands number of times. After initial investigation done by Sukh

Sagar Singh, the investigation then was handled by Mohammad

3

Yunus Khan. Thereafter, the investigation was taken up by Rana

Pratap Singh. After Rana Pratap Singh, the investigation was

conducted by Sheonath Ram and on his transfer, investigation was

further carried by Sarju Ram (PW-6). Initially a police report under

Section 173 Cr.P.C. was filed but on reinvestigation, a chargesheet

against all the seven accused persons under sections 147 and 302

read with 149 IPC was filed.

6.

The matter having been committed to the Court of

Sessions, the accused were charged under Sections 147 and 302

read with 149 IPC.

7.

The prosecution in support of its case examined six

witnesses, namely,Peer Mohammad (PW-1), Maqsood Khan (PW-2),

Dr. P.C. Misra (PW-3), Syed Hasan Jafar (PW-4