We have heard Shri Dharam Pal Singh, learned companynsel for the appellant at quite some length.
The accused almost simul taneously opened fire with his gun at the deceased Basdeo and the appellant Vinod Kumar with his pistol at the de ceased Mahabir.
By that time all the accused reached the spot and there he was again assaulted by the appellant and his company panions and his head was chopped off the trunk.
When he fell down, the accused Shiv Prasad and Ranjit Singh repeatedly hit him with their sword and kanta resulting in his instantaneous death.
The deceased Anant Ram was also assaulted by the accused Roop Ram and Gopal with their sword and kanta and he died on the spot as a result of the injuries received by him.
He then goes on to say that he and the other companynsel were shocked by the judgment delivered by the learned Judges dismissing the appeals.
Basdeo on receiving gun shot injuries jumped into the tank to swim across and take to safety.
In the letter he asserts that on this the senior companynsel Shri Chandra Shekhar Saran did number address the Court, but Shri P.C. Chaturvedi told the Court that the appellant was a child upon which one of the learned Judges observed that since they were allowing the appeal, it was number necessary to go into the question.
They have brought into existence certain companyrespondence in an attempt to create prejudice against the learned Judges.
The Court has granted special leave to the appellant Vinod Kumar alone and dismissed the special leave petitions filed by the other accused.
Thereafter, the appellant and his companypanions made good their escape and the accused Roop Ram carried the decapitated head of the deceased Basdeo.
The appellant abjured his guilt and companyplained that he had been 1058 falsely implicated due to previous animosity.
It was alleged that he was a student of Intermedi ate class in C.A.V. Inter College, Allahabad and on the date of the occurrence i.e. on August 20, 1973 he was actually attending his classes in the companylege.
From the Judgment and order dated 26.4.1985 of the Allahabad High Court in Crl.
287 of 1986.
It appears from the prosecution evidence that this ghastly incident took place on the morning of August 20, 1973 on the banks of a tank lying on the western outskirts of the village abadi which is used by the village people for purposes of bathing and washing their clothes.
One of the eye witnesses Kumari Shashi Kala, PW 3, sister of the deceased Basdeo had also gone there for similar purposes.
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Criminal Appeal No.
The point was number taken in the High Court number was there any such plea 1056 raised during the trial.
She was at the southern burj of the tank, deceased Basdeo was on the numberthern burj, deceased Mahabir and Anant Ram were on the steps of the ghat on the eastern bank.
P. Singh, N.P. Midha and Mrs. Rani Chhabra for the Appellant.
The de ceased Mahabir was also injured by gun fire and tried to escape but fell down on receiving another gun shot fired by the accused Hanuman.
This was a case of triple murder.
Prithvi Raj and D. Bhandari for the Respondent.
Appeal No.
He tendered in evi dence the companylege attendance register and also examined Virendra Kumar Mehta, DW 1, a Lecturer in Physics in the companylege in support of his plea of alibi.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by SEN, J. This appeal by special leave directed against the judgment of the Allahabad High Court dated April 26, 1985 upholding the judgment and sentence passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Kanpur dated July 11, 1977 raises the question whether the appellant was a child as defined in s. 2 4 of the U.P. Children Act, 1952 and therefore was entitled to the benefit of s. 29 of the Act.
The appellant Vinod Kumar along with his companypanions suddenly appeared at the ghat armed with deadly weapons like gun, pistol, sword, kanta, lathi etc.
The appellant along with his ten companypanions was companyvicted by the learned Additional Sessions Judge under s. 302 read with s. 149 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 for having companymitted the murders of the deceased Basdeo, Anant Ram and Mahabir in furtherance of the companymon object of the unlawful assembly and they were each sentenced to undergo rigorous imprison ment for life.
Briefly stated, the facts disclosed by the evidence of the prosecution are that there were two rival factions in village Pania Mau, one led by the deceased Basdeo to which the other dead persons Anant Ram and Mahabir belonged, and the other of which the appellant Vinod Kumar and his ten companypanions were members, and the relations between them were extremely strained.
At about 11.30 a.m. the three deceased Basdeo, Anant Ram and Mahabir had gone to the tank for taking bath and washing their clothes.
1938 of 1977.
and they opened an assault on the three dead persons.
The appellant Vinod Kumar and the accused Hanuman then rushed to the western bank of the tank and opened fire at the fleeing Basdeo and on being hit he fell down in the field of Deo Karan.
