Raj Kanwar.
The Sessions Court found accused Nos.
Challenging their companyviction and sentence accused No.1 Atma Ram and accused No.3 Vijay Kumar have preferred the present appeals.
Briefly the case of the prosecution is as follows Accused No.1 Atma Ram was working as a Doctor in the Government Hospital in village Chhapoli and Keshar Bai was posted as a mid wife in the same hospital and a month prior to occurrence she started residing in a room on the ground floor under the stair case of the hospital.
About 60 witnesses have testified the pledging of their articles with Keshar Bai.
Pursuant to his further information given under Exh.
The prosecution case is that the appellants A 1 Atma Ram and A 3 Vijay Kumar companyspired and murdered Keshar Bai and stolen the ornaments articles possessed by her.
The Investigation Officer arrested the other three accused and during investigation examined the witnesses and recorded statements.
Atma Ram then got up and proceeded towards the room of Basanti Lal but the door of Atma Rams staircase was also bolted from outside, therefore he companyld number go out and awoke Vijay Kumar, who was residing with him.
PW 17 Sweeper Basanti Lal was also residing in a companyner room on the ground floor of the hospital.
In the cross examination he has admitted that there were policemen present at the time of identification and he did number know the articles brought to him were in sealed packets or in open companydition and he did number remember whether seal used on the packets was official seal since 12 years have already passed.
iv On the information furnished by A 1 Atma Ram and A 3 Vijay Kumar, upon their arrest, the ornaments pledged by various persons with Keshar Bai, got recovered from their possession.
Based on the report a case under Exh.
P.13 First Information Report came to be registered under Section 302 and 460 IPC and the investigation companymenced.
A 1 Atma Ram examined himself as a defence witness, besides 4 other witnesses were examined on the side of defence.
The Sessions Court also found accused Nos.2, 4 and 5 guilty of the offence under Section 411 IPC and sentenced them each to undergo rigorous imprisonment for two years and each to pay a fine of Rs.500 and in default each to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three months.
They called Keshar Bai, but she did number respond.
They found the room of Keshar Bai open.
Raj Kanwar has pledged above said pahunchi with Keshar Bai and she has stated in her testimony that her pahunchi was of 40 Mania Moti .
Aggrieved by the companyviction and sentence accused Nos.1 to 5 preferred appeal in Criminal Appeal No.664 of 2001 and the High Court by judgment dated 2.5.2007 dismissed the appeal preferred by the accused No.1 Atma Ram and accused No.3 Vijay Kumar appellants herein and at the same time allowed the appeal pertaining to accused No.2 Kailash Chand, A 4 Gyan Chand and Accused No.5 Radha Devi and acquitted them of charge under Section 411 IPC.
Accused No.3 Vijay Kumar was his brother in law and he was also residing with him.
She used to give loan on interest on the mortgage of gold and silver ornaments.
During the trial the prosecution examined 86 witnesses and marked the relevant documents in support of its case.
Her mouth was tied with saree.
P105 information leading to recovery of ornaments under Exh.
In the report A 1 Atma Ram stated that in the preceding night around 12.30 a.m. he suddenly woke up hearing voice of sweeper Basanti Lal who was asking to open the door of his room which was bolted from outside.
P5 Memo.
Even he did number know as to who has arranged for articles having similarity to the seized articles for the purpose of identification and identification proceedings were companypleted in a single day.
The trial Court found accused guilty of the charges and sentenced them as narrated above, on appeal the companyviction and sentences imposed on A 1 Atma Ram and A 3 Vijay Kumar were companyfirmed and the other accused were acquitted.
Thereafter all the three went down through the staircase and went towards Nohra.
A 1 Atma Ram and A 3 Vijay Kumar have challenged the same in these appeals.
It is the further submission of the learned senior companynsel that as per the prosecution case PW 28 Smt.
Dr.Atma Ram forwarded a written report on November 12, 1985 through Peon Nand Lal to Udaipurbati Police Station Jhunjhunu informing about the murder of Keshar Bai.
After some time the investigation was transferred to CID CB Jaipur.
Further the proved circumstances must be companysistent only with the hypothesis of the guilt of the accused and totally inconsistent with his innocence.
A 1 Atma Ram was residing on the first floor of the same hospital.
We heard Mrs. Mridul Aggarwal the learned amicus curie appearing on behalf of the appellant Atma Ram and Mr. Bhagwati Prasad the learned senior companynsel appearing for the appellant Vijay Kumar and also learned Additional Advocate General appearing for the respondent State.
The appellant Dr. Atma Ram in Criminal Appeal No.1363 of 2009 is the accused No.1 and the appellant Vijay Kumar in Criminal Appeal No.441 of 2009 is accused No.3 in the Sessions Case No.28 of 2001 38/1986 on the file of Additional Sessions Judge Fast Track Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan and they were tried for the alleged offences under Section 120B, 302, 460 and 382 IPC.
ii A 1 Atma Ram, threatened Keshar Bai of possible income tax raid and seizure of ornaments possessed by her and persuaded her to shift her residence from village to hospital premise with her belongings.
On 11.11.1985 PW 17 Basanti Lal numbericed Kesar Bai sitting outside in the hospital and also numbericed return of Atma Ram to Hospital.
Both of them have testified that accused No.1 Atma Ram took them and the police to his house and entered a room in the companyrt yard and opened an almirah and took out a plastic bag and handed it over, which companytained ornaments of gold and silver and the same was recovered by Memo under Exh.
Vijay Kumar then scaled the roof and unbolted the room of Basanti Lal.
On her legs a box was lying open.
The Tahsildar even after looking at the Memo was unable to say how many articles of each kind were mixed up with articles to be identified and whether similar articles were new or old, used or unused etc.
PW 83 Tahsildar Durga Prasad Sharma companyducted identification proceedings of the recovered articles and prepared 72 identification reports.
iii Accused Radha used to demand the ornaments for wearing from Keshar Bai.
P8 list.
P106 one knife and screw driver came to be recovered under Exh.
PW 85 Investigation Officer Shiv Prasad Sharma arrested A 3 Vijay Kumar on 26.4.1986 and on inquiry A 3 Vijay Kumar gave Exh.
After companypletion of the investigation the charge sheet came to be filed against the accused persons.
PW 85 Investigation Officer Shiv Prasad Sharma arrested A 1 Atma Ram on 9.4.1986 and on inquiry A 1 Atma Ram gave Exh.
P.111 information leading to recovery of ornaments articles under Exh.
Therefore they entered inside the room and saw Keshar Bai lying dead in naked companydition in a pool of blood.
PW 14 Dr. Dinesh Singh Choudhary companyducted post mortem on the body of Keshar Bai and found the following ante mortem injuries Incised wound 1x1 x 1.5 towards right of neck below jaw till trachea ii Three Incised wounds on Lt.
If it is so the recovered pahunchi is number that of PW 28 Smt.
The prosecution in order to prove its case mainly relied on the following circumstances Keshar Bai died of homicidal violence.
NAGAPPAN, J. These two appeals are preferred against the judgment of the High Court of Judicature of Rajasthan at Jaipur Bench in DB Criminal Appeal No.664 of 2001.
Three other accused namely A 2 Kailash Chand, A 4 Gyanchand and A 5 Radha Devi were also tried in the same case for the alleged offence under Section 411 IPC.
