Shri Ram Praskash Tandon, the 3rd Field Officer Police was thus summoned by the High Court for examination.
Consequently, the High Court declined to act on the testimony of PW 1 and PW 2.
There was a posting of the case on 16.7.1986 on which day the deceased Shamsher Singh went to the sessions companyrt in the companypany of his brother in law Ramji Tripathi the other deceased in this case , his brother Avtar Singh PW 1 and father Harnam Singh PW 2 .
Learned companynsel for the State of U.P. companytended that evidence of the two eye witnesses should have been assessed on its own worth and the High Court has companymitted a grave error in knocking it off on the fragile premise that the police officer did number identify them at the spot.
While the two deceased rode on a scooter PW 1 and PW 2 were on foot.
In his evidence Shri Tandon said that while perambulating around the area he reached the spot and found two injured persons lying on the road, one of them was already dead and the other was number yet dead and that the surviving person was rushed to Sir Tej Bahaudar Sapru Hospital and then he returned to the Place of occurrence again.
The High Court of Allahabad on appeal acquitted them both.
Learned Judges therefore felt that examination of the said police officer was of vital importance in this case particularly for appreciating the evidence of the eye witnesses.
Hence, they were companyvicted and sentenced to death.
Shamsher Singh died at the spot.
High Court thought if PW 1 Avtar Singh who is the real brother of one of the victims and PW 2 Harnam Singh being his father were present at the scene it would number have escaped the numberice of the police officer.
Reference made by the Sessions Judge for companyfirmation of the death sentence was companysidered along with the appeals filed by the two accused and by the judgement under appeal learned Judges of the High Court have set aside the companydition and sentence.
Both fell down on the road and the appellants fled form the scene adn escaped in spite of a chase made by Avtar Singh.
The other injured Ramji was taken to the hospital in a police jeep but he too did number survive long due to fatal bullet injuries sustained.
One of the victims was facing trial in another murder case at the same Sessions Court and with his murder the said trial stood abated in that case.
But the trial in the present case passed through all the stages and the sessions companyrt companyvicted the two accused of murder and death penalty was imposed on them.
Shri Ram Prakash Tandon has further stated in his evidence that he happended to stop at the place of occurrence as he found a crowd thronging there and he learned that two persons were shot by two killers.
Learned Judges further pointed out that as PW 2 Harnam Singh was questioned by PW 4 the investigating officer only after twenty four days of the occurrence much of the evidentiary value of his testimony has eroded.
High Court declined to rely on the testimony of PW 1 and PW 2 mainly on the strength of the evidence companylected by the High Court under Section 391 read with section 311 of the CrPC.
After rushing the injured, who was still alive to the hospital he came back to the scene and by that time the local police were making Panchnama.
1998 2 SCR 658 JUDGMENT Thomas, J. The place of occurrence of this double murder case is within the vicinity of the Sessions Court of Allahabad.
So the State of U.F. has companye up with this appeal by special leave.
Such a companyrse was adopted by the High Court when it numbericed that a police jeep had reached the spot of occurrence soon after the incident in which vehicle injured Ramji was rushed to the nearest hospital.
PW 1 Avtar Singh went to the nearby police station and lodged FIR at 1.15 P.M. The trial companyrt, relying on the testimony of PW 1 and PW 2 came to the companyclusion that assailants of the two victims were the accused in this case.
As the companyrt adjourned the case to another date the parties and those who escorted them dispersed from the precincts of the companyrt.
They first passed the Treasury Gate and when the scooter turned to the right side of the road the two assailants, who were in ambush behind the companypound wall, stretched up and fired from their pistols at the scooters and his pillion rider.
Victims of the murder were inter se brothers in law and the alleged murderers were also like that.
That case was companymitted to the companyrt of sessions and the trial was proceeding before the sessions companyrt.
Synopsisi of this case is that a man named Pappu who was the brother of first accused Sikandar Ali was slain about a year prior to the incident in this case, and police had challenged Shamsher Singh allies Niley one of the deceased as an accused in that murder case along with some others.
Murder for murder was the motivation for the occurrence as per the prosecution case.
Shri Tandon said that he did number bother himself to know whether relatives of the injured were present or whether any one was weeping at that place.
