PW 3 ran to the front door and unbolted it and thereupon PW 5 Ram Bilas and one Behari, who had also been aroused by the alarm of Kishori came inside the house and raised alarm.
PWS 3, 5, 8 and others were examined during the investigation of the case.
Search was made for the respondents but all of them were absconding.
The autopsy on Kishoris dead body revealed that she had sustained 16 injuries of which 13 were punctured wounds and 3 were incised wounds.
A few minutes later, PW 3 Salikram, the village Sabhapati also came to Kishoris house and Kishori told him that she had been attacked by the respondents.
As it was night time and the Police Station was about 5 miles away, the witnesses were afraid to take Kishori to the Police Station immediately.
The respondents had cast companyetous eyes on the land of Kishori since she did number have any issues of her own.
Respondent Chet Ram was holding her legs pressed to the company while respondents Buddhi and Puttu were attacking her with a knife and sooja respectively.
On reaching the Police Station at about 7.00 a.m. Kishori gave a statement Exhibit Ka 3 to PW 6, Head Constable Kunwar Bahadur.
Thereafter the case against the respondents was altered to one under Sections 394 and 302 I.P.C. P.W. 10 held inquest over Kishoris dead body and sent it for autopsy and thereafter he visited the scene of occurrence and seized therefrom the blood stained rope and frame of the company and a lantern kept in the house.
At about day break time PW 3 brought a bullock cart and took Kishori to the Police Station at Banda.
Deceased Kishori was the widow of Ram Bharose, a step brother of the respondents father Girdhari.
At once the respondents snatched a Hansli and Jantar worn by Kishori and ran away to their house by jumping over the partition wall between Kishoris and their house.
Simultaneously, while PW 6 was recording Exhibit Ka 3 statement, PW 10 Puran Singh Rawat S.I. of Police recorded her statements under Section 161 3 Cr.
Kishori was living alone in her house.
Kishori insisted upon and was doing separate cultivation of her land and this was resented by the respondents.
Kishori was cultivating the land separately with the help of PW 3 Maiku on Bata basis.
As the entrance door was bolted from inside, PW 3 scaled over the wall with the help of a lathi and gained entrance to the house.
PW 10 numbericed a jua yoke Ext.
P.C. A case under Section 307 and 394 I.P.C. was registered against the respondents and Kishori was sent to the dispensary at Pawayan alongwith PW 7 Constable Sita Ram.
Respondents Chet Ram and Suddhi surrendered in Court on 15th May, 1970 and respondent Puttu surrendered in Court on 27th May, 1970.
The oral dying declaration of Kishori to PW 8 and her recorded statement Exhibit Ka 3 were also viewed with suspicion by the High Court because of the nature of the injuries sustained by Kishori and because of an answer furnished by the hostile witness PW 5 to the respondents that Kishori was lying unconscious when he saw her in the house.
On the night in question at about mid night PW 3, whose house is only about 40 or 50 paces away from Kishoris house heard her cries of alarm and ran to her house.
The land belonging to Girdhari and Ram Bharose were originally under joint cultivation but after companysolidation proceedings were taken by Kishori, the land was demarcated and separate chaks were prepared.
A lantern was burning in the house and by the light shed by it he saw the respondents attacking her.
Irked by Kishoris refusal to allow them to cultivate the land, the respondents are alleged to have done her to death on the night of 12/13 May, 1970 Kishori and the respondents were living in adjoining houses separated only by a single wall.
When PW 7 and Kishori reached the bus stand at Banda Kishori breathed her last and hence PW 7 brought her dead body to the Police Station.
Natarajan, J. Respondents Chet Ram, Buddhi and Puttu, sons of Girdhari were companyvicted by the Sessions Judge of Shahjahanpur under Sections 394 and 302 read with Section 34 I.P.C. and sentenced to 4 years R.I. and life imprisonment respectively but the High Court allowed the appeal preferred by them and set aside their companyvictions and sentences and hence this appeal by special leave by the State of Uttar Pradesh.
II placed on the wall of the respondents house so as to serve as a foot rest for scaling over the wall and PW 10 seized it also under a recovery memo.
