Subash
Shiv Shankar Vs. State Of U.P [1987] INSC 108 (14 April 1987)
Natrajan,
S. (J) Natrajan, S. (J) Dutt, M.M. (J) Citation: 1987 Air 1222 1987 Scr (2) 962
1987 Scc (3) 331 1987 Scale (1)838
ACT:
Indian
Penal Code, 1860--Sections 34 and 302--Joint attack by accused--Some accused
acquitted for want of acceptable proof of identity--Other accused cannot escape
conviction when participation in attack established by prosecution.
Criminal
Trial--Identification Parade--Delay in holding of-First Information Report and
statements of witnesses--Absence of descriptive particulars of
accused----Conviction----Whether vitiated.
HEADNOTE:
The
prosecution alleged that there was a dispute between the appellant in Appeal
No. 287 of 1978 and the deceased in regard to payment of repair charges for a
machine part and that three or four days later this appellant along with others
attacked the deceased when he was accompanied by P.W.
1
and P.W. 2. It was further alleged that while the appellant in Appeal No. 288
of 1978 caught hold of the deceased, the appellant in the first appeal and two
others repeatedly stabbed him with knives and caused several injuries. P.W. 2
was also injured when he tried to intercede. The deceased and P.W. 2 were taken
to hospital where the deceased was pronounced dead. P.W. 1 presented a
complaint at the Police Station.
The
appellant in the first appeal absconded and surrendered before the court later.
On questioning, he named the assailants, who were arrested on different dates.
Test identification parades were held for two accused persons wherein the
appellant in the second appeal was identified by three witnesses, but the other
accused was identified by only of them. In the subsequent identification parade
held for another accused, none of the witnesses was able to identify him. All
the accused were tried and the two appellants and another accused were
convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code and Section
324 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code for having committed murder of the
deceased and caused hurt with a knife to P.W.
2
and were awarded imprisonment for life and three years' rigorous imprisonment
respectively, the sentences to run concurrently. The fourth accused who was not
identified by any one of the witnesses at the identification 963 parade and
whose name was not mentioned in the First Information Report, was acquitted.
The High Court in appeal confirmed the conviction of the two appellants but
acquitted the third accused on the ground that he had been identified by only
P.W. 2 and not by other witnesses.
In
the appeal to this Court, it was submitted on behalf of the appellant in
Criminal Appeal No. 287 of 1978 that the prosecution evidence suffers from numerous
infirmities and as such, the trial court and the High Court ought not to have
convicted him, that in any case the benefit of doubt given to the two of the
other accused ought to have been given to him, that there was an attempt to
cover up the delay in making the report, that the motive put forward for the
occurrence was of a flimsy nature and it was unbelievable that for non-payment
of repair charges the deceased would have been attacked along with his
companions, that P.W.
1
did not have proper eye sight, that P.W. 3 was a chance witness and that C.W. 1
failed to support the prosecution case, and that even though P.W. 2 was an
injured witness, there was no guarantee that his evidence is truthful. It was
further urged that the appellant could be convicted only for an offence under
Section 324 Indian Penal Code for the injury caused to the deceased as well as
P.W. 2, that as the sub-stratum of the prosecution fails, the entire case had
to fail and that when the other accused persons were acquitted, the appellant
alone cannot be convicted under Section 302 read with Section 34 I.P.C., in the
absence of evidence that he caused any of the fatal injuries on the deceased.
It
was submitted on behalf of the appellant in Criminal Appeal No. 288 of 1978
that neither his name nor any of his characteristics were mentioned in the
First Information Report by any of the eye witnesses, that he was falsely
implicated, that there was no motive for him to murder the deceased, that one
of the prosecution witnesses had altogether denied his presence, that there was
delay in his arrest and ho1ding of the identification parade and he was exposed
to the identifying witnesses by not covering his distinctive features, that the
prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt his participation in
the commission of the occurrence and that when the other accused, one of whose
name figured in the First Information Report, were acquitted by giving the
benefit of doubt. he should also have been given the same benefit of doubt.
Dismissing
the appeal of the appellant in Appeal No. 287 of 1978 and allowing the appeal
of the appellant in Appeal No. 288 of 1978, this Court, 964
HELD:
1. When participation of the appellant with the other assailants is established
beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution, he cannot escape the consequences
of the attack committed by him and his accomplices in furtherance of their
common intention and conviction under Section 302 read with Section 34 Indian
Panel Code even though the other accused stand acquitted and even though there
may be no evidence that the accused caused one of the fatal injuries. [973E]
2.
The other accused were acquitted only for want of acceptable proof of their
identity and not because the eye witnesses had not seen the occurrence or that
the occurrence had taken place in a different manner. Therefore, there is no
merit in the contention that when the other accused persons were acquitted, the
appellant in Criminal Appeal No.287 of 1978 alone cannot be convicted under
Section 302 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code, in the absence of evidence
to show that he caused any of the fatal injuries on the deceased. The
appellant, therefore, cannot escape the consequences of the attack jointly
committed by him and his accomplices in furtherance of the common intention.
[972B-E]
3.
There is nothing improbable in the appellant having nurtured a grievance
against the deceased and wanting to settle scores with him. The evidence of the
eye witnesses was clearly to the effect that the appellant told his companions
on seeing the deceased that he was the person who had quarreled with him and
taken away the machine part without paying the repair charges. Making common
cause of his grievance, the appellant's companions had also joined him in perpetrating
an attack on the deceased. The trial court and the High Court were right in
accepting the evidence of these witnesses. [970F-G]
4.
There is no merit in the contention that the appellant can be convicted only
for an offence under Section 324 Indian Penal Code for injury caused to the
deceased as well as P.W. 2. The trial court had framed a separate charge
against the appellant under Section 324 Indian Penal Code in addition to the
charge under Section 324 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code. There is also
no merit in the contention that when the sub-stratum of the prosecution case
fails, the entire case has to fail. The prosecution version fully survives in
spite of the acquittal of the other accused for want of proof of identity. [971
D-F]
5.
Where there is delay in holding an identification parade, it would not be safe
to place reliance on the identification of the accused by the eye witnesses.
[969D-E] 965
6.
Where the witnesses had not given any description of the accused in the First
Information Report or in the statements during the investigation, their
identification of the accused at the trial cannot be safely accepted by the
court for convicting the accused. [969E]
7.
The appellant in Criminal Appeal No. 288 of 1978 was not arrested for nearly
nine weeks after coming to know of his name and address from the other
appellant. It was not the case of the prosecution that the appellant was
absconding. Apart from this infirmity, the appellant was not put up for test
identification parade promptly and it was held three weeks after his arrest and
no explanation was offered for the delay in holding it. There is, therefore,
room for doubt as to whether the delay in holding the identification parade was
in order to enable the identifying witnesses to see him in the police lock up
or in the jail premises and make a note of his features. A sufficiently long
interval of time had elapsed between the date of occurrence when the witnesses
had seen the appellant for a few minutes and the date of the identification
parade. [968D-H; 969A]
8.
Although all the three witnesses had identified the appellant at the
identification parade, after nearly four months, in the absence of any
descriptive particulars of the appellant in the First Information Report or in
the statements of witnesses during the investigation, it would not be safe and
proper to act upon the identification of the appellant by the three witnesses
at the identification parade and hold that he was one of the assailants of the
deceased.
[969A-D]
9.
As the conviction of the appellant was based solely with reference to his
identification at the parade, he has to be given the benefit of doubt and
acquitted. [973E] Muthu Swami v. State of Madras, AIR 1954 SC 4; Mohd. Abdul
Hafeez v. State of Andhra Pradesh, AIR 1983 SC 361;
Gurdev
Singh and others v. The State, 1963 Punjab Law Re- porter, 409; State of U.P.
v. Hari Prasad, AIR 1974 SC 1740;
Ugar
Ahir v. State of Bihar, AIR 1965 SC 277; Vijay Kumar v: State of J & K, AIR
1982 SC 1022; and Amir Hussain v. State of U.P., AIR 1975 SC 2211, referred to.
CRIMINAL
APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Criminal Appeal Nos. 287-288 of 1978.
From
the Judgment and Order dated 14.10.1977 of the Allahabad High Court in Criminal
Appeal Case No. 2242 of 1972. 966 Frank Anthony, Sushil Kumar and J.K. Das for
the Appel- lant in Crl. A.No. 287 of 1978.
U.R.
Lalit, S.K. Bisaria and A.D. Malhotra for the Appellant in Crl. A.No. 288 of
1978.
Prithvi
Raj, C.P. Mittal and Dalveer Bhandari for the Re- spondent.
The
Judgment of the Court was delivered by NATARAJAN, J. These Appeals by Special
Leave arise out of a common judgment rendered by the Allahabad High Court in
three Criminal Appeals filed before it by the appellants and one Raj Kishore.
Appellant Subash and appellant Shiv Shankar were convicted alongwith Raj
Kishore by the 4th Additional Sessions Judge, Bareilly under Section 302 read
with Section 34 Indian Penal Code and Section 324 read with Section 34 Indian
Penal Code respectively for having committed the murder of one Ram Babu and for
having caused hurt with a knife to witness Dinesh Shankar. For the said
convictions they were awarded imprisonment for life and three year's R.I.,
respectively and the sentences were ordered to run concurrently. One Om Kumar who
was also sent up for Sessions trial under the two charges mentioned above was
acquitted by the Sessions Judge. The three convicted persons preferred appeals
to the High Court and the High Court has confirmed the convictions and
sentences awarded to Subash and Shiv Shankar but acquitted Raj Kishore.
The
offences in question were committed on March 12, 1971 i.e., a day after Holi
Festival at about 11 a.m. on the Bareilly-Nainital Road in Bareilly. The
prosecution case was that while Shiv Shankar caught hold of Ram Babu, Subash,
Raj Kishore and Om Kumar repeatedly stabbed him with knives and caused fatal
injuries to him. When Dinesh Shankar (P.W. 2) tried to intercede he was also
stabbed by Subash and caused an injury. Besides, Dinesh Shankar (P.W. 2) the occurrence
was witnessed by an uncle of Ram Babu viz. Budh Sen (P.W. 1) and Shyam Behari
(P.W. 3) and some others. Ram Babu and Dinesh Shankar were taken to the
hospital but Ram Babu was pronounced dead in the hospital. The motive for the
occur- rence was that about 15 or 20 days prior to the occurrence Ram Babu had
given a machine part to Subash for being welded but Subash failed to carry out
the work; nevertheless he refused to return the machine part without the repair
charges being paid to him. Ram Babu refused to pay the charges and there was an
altercation but the parties were pacified by 967 Dinesh Shankar and Ram Babu
took away the machine part without paying any charges to Subash. The quarrel
had taken place about 3 or 4 days before the occurrence. Bearing this grudge in
mind, when Ram Babu, accompanied by Budh Sen and Dinesh Shankar was proceeding
to Qutabkhana to witness the Holi celebrations, Subash assisted by his three
companions attacked Ram Babu in the manner set out earlier and caused fatal injuries
to him. There were as many as 14 injuries on Ram Babu among which 7 were
punctured wounds. Among the punctured wounds, injury nos. 7 and 8 were deep
injuries which had injured the pleura, left lung, pericardium and the heart.
These injuries were certified to be sufficient in the ordinary course of nature
to cause death. Dinesh Shankar (P.W. 2) also had sustained an incised wound on
his left thigh.
Budh
Sen (P.W. 1) got a report Exhibit Kha 1 written by his son and presented it at
the Police Station at 1.12 p.m.
Therein
he has stated that accused Subash was known to him but the other three
assailants were not known to him but another witness Bhuvan Chand examined as
C.W. 1, had in- formed him that one Raja Ram was one of the assailants of Ram
Babu. It would appear that subsequently Bhuvan Chand refused to testify out of
fear of the accused and hence he was not cited as a witness in the
charge-sheet. Even so, having regard to the averments in Exhibit Kha 1, the
Ses- sions Judge examined Bhuvan Chand as a court witness. He, however, failed
to corroborate Budh Sen and stated that he did not know anything about the
occurrence.
Subash
was absconding and he surrendered before the court on 12.3.71. He was
subsequently questioned by the Investigating Officer and he gave information
regarding the names and addresses of the other three assailants. Raj Kishore
was arrested on 23.5.1971 and Shiv Shankar was arrested on 14.6.71 from the
office of the Central Excise, Bareilly where he was employed. Om Kumar surrendered
himself in Court on 15.7.71.
Test
identification parades were held for Raj Kishore and Shiv Shankar on 5.5.71
wherein Shiv Shankar was identi- fied by Budh Sen, Dinesh Shankar and Shyam
Behari but Raj Kishore was identified only by Dinesh Shankar. In the subse-
quent test identification parade held for Om Kumar on 27.7.71 none of the
witnesses was able to identify him. The defence of all the accused was one of
denial.
Since
accused Om Kumar was not identified by any of the witnesses at the test identification
parade and since his name was not 968 mentioned in Exhibit Kha 1 the Sessions
Judge acquitted him of the charges and convicted only the two appellants and
Raj Kishore. The High Court acquitted Raj Kishore because he had been
identified only by Dinesh Shankar and not by the other witnesses but, however,
confirmed the conviction of these two appellants and it is against such
confirmation by the High Court, the appellants have preferred these Appeals.
Before
dealing with the case of Subash we can conveniently deal with the appeal of
Shiv Shankar. Admittedly he was not known to any of the eye witnesses and his
name does not also find a place in the First Information Report Exhibit Kha 1.
His name came to be known only through Subash when he was questioned in the
jail on 7.4.1971. Even if it were so, it is not understandable why the
Investigating Officer should have taken three weeks to question Subash after
his surrender in Court on 17.3.1971. Be that as it may, even after getting the
name and address of Shiv Shankar from Subash, the Investigating Officer has
failed to trace him and arrest him till 14.6.1971. Shiv Shankar was an employee
in the office of the Central Excise Department at Bareilly itself. It is,
therefore, difficult to believe that the Investigating Officer would not have
been able to trace him and arrest him for nearly 9 weeks after coming to know
of Shiv Shankar's name and address from Subash. As a matter of fact, the
Investigating Officer has stated in his evidence that he visited the house of
Shiv Shankar two or three times to arrest him but Shiv Shankar was not to be
found. If Shiv Shankar was absent from the house the Investigating Officer
could have easily learnt from the neighbours where he was working and where he
had gone and located him and arrested him. It is not the prosecution case that
Shiv Shankar was absconding. In such circumstances it is difficult to accept
the prosecution case that the Investigating Officer could not trace and arrest
Shiv Shankar till 14.6.71 in spite of coming to know on 7.4.71 itself that he
was one of the assailants of Ram Babu.
Apart
from this infirmity we further find that Shiv Shankar was not put up for test
Identification parade promptly. The identification parade has been held three
weeks after his arrest and no explanation has been offered for the delay in
holding the test identification parade.
There
is, therefore, room for doubt as to whether the delay in holding the
identification parade was in order to enable the identifying witnesses to see
him in the police lock-up or in the jail premises and make a note of his
features.
Over
and above all these things there remains the fact that a 969 sufficiently long
interval of time had elapsed between the date of occurrence when the witnesses
had seen Shiv Shankar for a few minutes and the date of the test identification
parade. It is, no doubt, true that all the three witnesses had correctly
identified Shiv Shankar at the identification parade but it has to be borne in
mind that nearly 4 months had elapsed during the interval. It is relevant to
mention here that neither in Exhibit Kha I nor in their statements during
investigation, the eye witnesses have given any descriptive particulars of Shiv
Shankar. While deposing before the Sessions Judge they have stated that Shiv
Shankar was a tall person and had 'sallow' complexion. If it is on account of
these features the witnesses were able to identify Shiv Shankar at the
identification, parade, they would have certainly mentioned about them at the
earliest point of time because their memory would have been fresh then. Thus in
the absence of any descriptive particulars of Shiv Shan- kar in Exhibit Kha 1
or in the statements of witnesses during investigation, it will not be safe and
proper to act upon the identification of Shiv Shankar by the three wit- nesses
at the identification parade and hold that he was one of the assailants of Ram
Babu. As pointed out in Muthu Swami v. State of Madras, A.I.R. 1954 S.C 4 where
an identifica- tion parade is held about 2-1/2 months after the occurrence it
would not be safe to place reliance on the identification of the accused by the
eye witnesses. In another case Mohd. Abdul Hafeez v. State of Andhra Pradesh,
A.I.R. 1983 S.C. 361 it was held that where the witnesses had not given any
description of the accused in the First Information Report, their
identification of the accused at the Sessions trial cannot be safely accepted
by the court for awarding conviction to the accused. In the present case there
was a long interval of nearly 4 months before the test identification parade
was held and it is difficult to accept that in spite of this interval of time
the witnesses were able to have a clear image of the accused in their minds and
identify him correctly at the identification parade.
Mr.
U.R. Lalit, learned counsel for Shiv Shankar further contended that Shiv
Shankar had certain distinctive features like scars on the face, reddish lips
etc., and these marks of identification should have been furnished to the
witnesses before they were called upon to identify Shiv Shankar at the
identification parade. We do not think it necessary to go into the merits of
this argument in the light of our conclusion already reached. As the conviction
of Shiv Shankar is based solely with reference to his identification at the
identification parade, he has to be given the benefit of doubt and acquitted in
the light of our finding. Accordingly, Shiv Shankar's appeal has to succeed.
970
Coming now to the appeal of Subash it was strenuously contended by Mr. Frank
Anthony, learned counsel that the prosecution evidence suffers from numerous
infirmities and as such the Sessions Judge and the High Court ought not to have
convicted him. His further argument was that in any case the benefit of doubt
given to Om Kumar and Raj Kishore, ought to have been given to Subash also. Mr.
Anthony argued that Exhibit Kha 1 could not have been given at 1.12 p.m.
because
there is no evidence to show when the report was sent to the Magistrate and
when it was received by him. The learned counsel referred to Gurdev Singh and
others v. The State, [1963] Punjab Law Reporter, 409 where the dangers ensuing
from a First Information Report not being lodged promptly have been pointed
out. We are unable to accept the argument of Mr. Anthony because there are no
materials to warrant an inference that Exhibit Kha 1 had been given later but
ante-dated to cover up the delay in making the report.
It
is true that the First Information Report sent to Court does not contain the
Magistrate's endorsement regarding the time of its receipt, but Ram Kishan,
Head Constable (P.W. 5) has deposed that the special report was despatched to
the Magistrate at 1.20 p.m. itself through constable Chiman Lal and that the
General Diary contains an entry to that effect.
It
was seriously urged by Mr. Anthony that the motive put forward for the
occurrence Was of a flimsy nature and it is unbelievable that for non-payment
of repair charges Subash would have attacked Ram Babu along with his compan-
ions. This argument has to fail because Dinesh Shankar has clearly deposed that
there was an altercation between Subash and Ram Babu there on four days earlier
and Ram Babu took away the machine part without paying repair charges to
Subash. There is, therefore, nothing improbable in Subash having nurtured a
grievance against Ram Babu and wanting to settle scores with him. The evidence
of the eye-witnesses is clearly to the effect that Subash told his companions
on seeing Ram Babu, that he is the person who had quarrelled with him and taken
away the machine part without paying the repair charges. Making common cause of
his grievance Su- bash's companions had also joined him in perpetrating an
attack on Ram Babu. The intent of Subash in launching an attack on Ram Babu can
be gauged from the fact that when Dinesh Shankar tried to intervene, he had
prevented him and inflicted a stab injury on him also.
The
further argument of Mr. Anthony was that Budh Sen did not have proper eye
sight, that Shyam Behari was a chance witness and 971 that Bhuvan Chand named
in Exhibit Kha 1 had failed to support the prosecution case and as such there
is no accept- able evidence to convict Subash. He also stated that even though
Dinesh Shankar is an injured witness, there is no guarantee his evidence is
truthful. None of these contentions in our opinion, has any merit. Budh Sen has
stated that his eye sight is poor without glasses but with spectacles he can
see well. It is not the case of the appellant that Budh Sen was not wearing his
spectacles at the time of the occurrence. In so far as Dinesh Shankar and Shyam
Behari are concerned, their presence at the scene cannot admit any doubt
because their names find a place in Exhibit Kha I.
Moreover
Dinesh Shankar has sustained an injury on his left thigh. The evidence of these
witnesses has been accepted by the Session Court and the High Court and we see
no reason to take a different view. In so far as Bhuvan Chand (C.W. 1) is
concerned, the prosecution has satisfactorily explained why he was not cited as
a witness. He had no doubt furnished the name of Raja Ram alias Raj Kishore to
Budh Sen but he subsequently backed out fearing reprisal at the hands of the
accused. Mr. Anthony argued that even if his contentions are not accepted,
Subash can be convicted only for an offence under Section 324 Indian Penal Code
for the injury caused to Ram Babu as well as Dinesh Shankar. We may mention
here that the Sessions Judge had framed a separate charge-against the appellant
Subash under Section 324 Indian Penal Code in addition to the charge under
Section 302 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code. Mr. Anthony invited our
attention to State of U.P. v. Hari Prasad, A.I.R. 1974 S.C. 1740 and Ugar Ahir
v. State of Bihar, A.I.R. 1965 S.C. 277 to contend that when the sub-stratum of
the prosecution case fails, the entire case has to fail. We find the facts in
those cases were entirely different and hence they can have no relevance to
this appeal. In the present case, the prosecution version fully survives in
spite of the acquittal of the other accused for want of proof of indentity.
The
last argument of Mr. Anthony was that in any event when the other accused
persons are acquitted, Subash alone cannot be convicted under Section 302 read
with Section 34 Indian Penal Code in the absence of evidence to show that he
caused any of the fatal injuries on Ram Babu. This argument is devoid of any
merit. The case of Subash stands on a different footing from that of the other
accused because he has been clearly named and the particulars of his profession
and address have been furnished in Exhibit Kha 1. All the witnesses have stated
that he was known to all of them. In contrast the names of the other accused
were not known to the eye witnesses and the name of Raj Kishore alone had been
furnished to Budh Sen by Bhuvan Chand.
972
Besides attacking Ram Babu Subash had also attacked Dinesh Shankar. He was
absconding and had later surrendered himself in court. No test identification
parade was held for him because his identity was never in doubt. He had a
grudge against Ram Babu and it was on his instigation the attack on Ram Babu
had been launched. His case, therefore, stands on a distinctively different
footing from that of the other accused persons. Even though the other accused
are acquitted it is only for want of proof of their identity and not because
the eye witnesses had not seen the occurrence or that the occurrence had taken
place in a different manner.
Subash
cannot, therefore, escape the consequences of the attack jointly committed by
him and his accomplices in furtherance of their common intention even though
the other accused stand acquitted for want of acceptable proof of their
identity. Mr. Anthony referred us to the decision in Vijay Kumar v. State of J
& K, A.I.R. 1982 S.C. 1022 to contend that when the other accused stand
acquitted Subash also should be acquitted of the charge under Section 302 read
with Section 34 Indian Penal Code. The facts in that case bear no comparison
with the facts in this case. On the other hand Amir Hussain v. State of U.P.,
A.I.R. 1975 S.C.
2211
will be the decision apt for consideration in this case. In the above case 10
persons were acquitted by the Sessions Judge and three alone were convicted
under Section 302 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code. Among those three,
two were acquitted by the High Court and consequently only one of the accused
stood convicted. The said accused appealed to this court and contended that
since the other two accused had been acquitted, he should also be acquitted of
the charge under Section 302 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code. Repelling
the contention this Court held as follows:- "Much stress has been laid on
behalf of the appellant upon the fact that despite the evidence of the above
mentioned four eye- witnesses, the High Court has acquitted Kari- muddin and
Mohd. Ibrahim accused. It is, in our view, not necessary to express an opinion
on the point as to whether those two accused were rightly acquitted or not. All
that we can say is that the benefit of doubt which resuited in the acquittal of
the other two accused would not vitiate the conviction of the appellant in case
the evidence adduced against him is found to be satisfactory and convincing.
The
material on record establishes that the appellant had a motive to join in the
assault on Ibrahim Pradhan. The appellant held out a threat and report about it
was lodged by Ibrahim deceased at the police station about 973 3-1/2 months
prior to the present occurrence.
The
evidence about the motive lends assurance to the evidence of the eye-witnesses
regarding the complicity of the appellant.
We
would, therefore, maintain the conviction of the appellant.
As
regards the sentence, it may be stated that the only injury which is attributed
to the appellant is an incised wound on the right arm of Ibrahim. The incised
wound which was found on the scalp of Mehandi Hasan was ascribed by the
eye-witnesses to Karimuddin who has been acquitted. In view of the fact that a
comparatively minor injury was at- tributed to the appellant and he is being
vicariously held liable for the fatal injuries caused by the other culprits, we
consider it to be a fit case in which we might substitute the lesser sentence
for the extreme penalty of death. We accordingly maintain the conviction of the
appellant but reduce his sentence to that of imprisonment for life." We
are, therefore, of the view that even though the other accused stand acquitted
and even though there is no evidence that Subash caused one of the fatal
injuries, he cannot escape conviction under Section 302 read with Section 34
Indian Penal Code when his participation with three other assailants in the
attack on Ram Babu has been established beyond reasonable doubt by the
prosecution. We, therefore, confirm his convictions and the sentences awarded
there for.
In
the result Crl. Appeal No. 287 of 1978 will stand dismissed while Crl. Appeal
No. 288 of 1978 will stand allowed. Appellant Subash will surrender himself to
custody failing which he should be arrested for serving out the sentence.
Appellant Shiv Shankar will stand acquitted of the convictions under Section
302 read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code and 324 read with Section 34 Indian
Penal Code and his bail bonds will stand cancelled.
N.P.V.
Crl. Appeal No. 287/78 dismissed.
Crl.
Appeal No. 288/78 allowed.
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