The Sessions Judge acquitted these ten persons of all the charges.
A. 37 of 1953, Kripal and Bhopal, were sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs.
All the three of them were proceeding towards Jirajs field, the two labourers being somewhat ahead of Jiraj.
A. 77 of 1953 is companycerned, his appeal which arises out of the same judgment is before us on special leave granted under Article 136 of the Constitution.
The specific case of the prosecution with reference to the incidents which brought about the death of the two persons, Jiraj and Indraj, was that on the morning of the 16th May, 1949, at about 7 A. M. the three appellants of whom Bhopal and Sheoraj were brothers and Kripal their companysin, were working in a field in which was situated a well called Milakwala well.
A. 77 of 1953 was sentenced to transportation for life.
Bhopal and Sheoraj.
The two labourers proceeded forward without heeding them.
So far as the appellant in Cr.
These two murdered persons were brothers and the sons of Chandan, who gave the First Information Report.
The prosecution treated both these incidents as forming one transaction and placed all the 13 accused, together, on joint trial in respect of the two charges, the first being a charge under Section 148, I.P.C. and the second a charge under Sections 302 and 323 taken with 149, I.P.C. both the charges being against all the 13 persons.
Appellants Bhopal and Sheoraj admitted their presence at the occurrence but their case was that there were numbertwo different incidents at two places as put forward by the prosecution, but there was only one incident.
Thus according to the prosecution case there were two incidents, one at Milakwala well and another at Dhakolas.
Thereupon the three appellants attacked Jiraj, as a result of which he fell down and died on the spot.
The defence of the appellant Kripal was that he was number at the scene of occurrence but at a different village to which he had gone.
Another, Bhanwar Singh, who was also going to the field of Jiraj, saw Jiraj being attacked by the three appellants and ran back to the village and informed certain persons in the village about the occurrence.
At that place all the three appellants as also ten other persons who were there, armed with lathies and spears attacked Indraj and some other persons on his side, who by that time had companye running up to the place from the village on receiving information.
According to them they were both working at the Milakwala well in the companypany of a Tilak Brahmin, when, the two deceased persons along with 8 others, i. e. ten out of the 13 original accused in this case came to the spot armed with lathis and spears and challenged them for a fight.
He examined two witnesses in support of that defence.
At the first occurrence Jiraj died, while the two labourers Man Singh and Sher Singh received some injuries.
At the second Indraj received mortal injuries and four others viz.
The prosecution case which has given rise to these appeals is as follows.
Tulshi, Munshi, Bhanwar Singh and Lal Singh, received minor injuries.
He accepted the prosecution evidence in so far as it relates to the incident at Milakwala well and companyvicted all the three present appellants as being companycerned therein.
As regards the incident at the Dhakolas, the learned Sessions Judge companysidered that the evidence bearing on the same was number satisfactory.
In the first incident, only the three appellants participated, while in the second these three along with ten others participated.
Meanwhile Jiraj arrived at the spot and asked the appellants why they were beating his labourers and stopped them from beating them.
Meanwhile, the two accused Bhopal and Sheoraj in the companyrse of their chase of Ram Chandra, encountered Indraj in the place known as Dhakolas on the way from the Milakwala well to the village, about a furlong and a half away from the Milakwala well.
Meanwhile one Ram Chandra, brother in law of the two labourers, who was also companying somewhat behind to join in the labour, came near the Milakwala well and saw the occurrence and becoming afraid ran back to the village.
Just as the blade came off, Jiraj died.
He was chased by two of the appellants, viz.
But so far as the three appellants are companycerned, though acquitted in respect of the charge under Section 302, I.P.C., they were companyvicted under Section 304 1 as well as under Section 323, I. P. C. read with Section 34, I.P.C. The appellants in Cr.
They were themselves merely acting in self defence as against the aggressive attack of the prosecution party and in companyrse of this scuffle both Jiraj and Indraj received fatal injuries from the members of their own party.
The labourers, Man Singh and Sher Singh ran to the help of Jiraj and they were further assaulted by the appellants who resisted the assault on themselves with lathis.
Both the Courts below accepted the prosecution evidence so far as this incident is companycerned and rejected the defence as number having been made out and indeed as being false.
When they had gone about 30 or 40 paces, the three appellants rushed at them and began to beat them with the handles of spears which were in the hands of Bhopal and Kripal and with a lathi which was in the hand of Sheoraj.
Injuries on Indraj were serious and within the companyrse of a short time he died.
Bhopal then stabbed him with his spear on the left jaw, put his legs on his chest and extracted the spear blade from his jaw.
7 oclock in the morning of the 16th May, 1949, one at a spot called Milakwala well and the other at a place called Dhakolas.
As already stated he companysidered all of them guilty only under Section 304, I.P.C. read with Section 34, I.P.C. and number under Section 302, I.P.C. and sentenced them as already above stated.
Kripal stabbed him with his spear near the ear.
So far as the appellants in Cr.
At that encounter Indraj and four others received injuries.
The deceased Jiraj had a field somewhat lower down the Milakwala well where sugarcane was grown.
On their way the two labourers had to pass by the side of the Milakwala well where the three appellants were working.
100 and the appellant in Cr.
A. 77 of 1953, Sheoraj, was sentenced to four years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs.
The three appellants filed appeals to the High Court in respect of their companyvictions and sentences, while the State filed an appeal as against these three appellants alone in respect of their acquittal under Section 302, I.P.C. In the High Court, the appeal filed by the three appellants was dismissed but on the appeal filed by the State, the acquittal of these three appellants under Section 302, I.P.C. was set aside and they were companyvicted of the said offence.
In the village of Kakrala, police station Khatauli, District Muzaffarnagar, there were two incidents at about the same time, viz.,
Jagannadhadas J. These two appeals are against a judgment of the High Court of Allahabad dated the 8th May, 1953, and arise out of a trial before the Sessions Judge of Muzaffarnagar of the three appellants herein along with ten others in respect of charges under Section 148, and Sections 302 as well as 323 read with 149 of the Indian Penal Code.
The two appellants in Cr.
On the way Ram Chandra met Indraj, brother of Jiraj, companying out of the village and told him that Jiraj had been killed and the labourers have been beaten by the appellants.
A. 37 of 1953 are companycerned, the appeal to this Court is under Article 134 1 a of the Constitution which provides for a right of appeal from a judgment of a High Court in criminal proceedings where, on appeal, the High Court reverses an order of acquittal and sentences an accused to death.
A. 37 of 1953 were sentenced to death while the appellant in Cr.
They were accosted by the accused and on getting to know that they were going to work for Jiraj in his field lower down, they abused them and told them number to go there but to work for themselves.
At the Milakwala well incident one Jiraj was murdered and at the Dhakolas incident one Indraj was murdered.
For that mornings work of digging canes from the field, he had fixed up two labourers by name Man Singh and Sher Singh.
It would appear that the two murdered persons as well as the three appellants are all related to each other as decendants from a companymon ancestor through different branches and that there were serious disputes between them relating to partition of certain properties.
