Case Facts:
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Criminal Appeal (DB) No.408 of 1990 =========================================================== Balister Singh (Aged about 42 years), son of Yogendra Singh, resident of Manika Bishnupur Chand, P.S. Mushari, Dist. Muzaffarpur. .... .... Appellant Versus The State of Bihar .... .... Respondent =========================================================== Appearance : For the Appellant: Mr. Chittaranjan Sinha, Sr. Adv. Mr. R.N. Choudhary, Adv. Mr. Krishna Narayan Jha, Adv. Mr. Anirban Kundu, Adv. Mr. R.N.Chaudhary Mr. Sanjay Kumar Singh, Adv. For the Respondent: Ms. Shashi Bala Verma, APP =========================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MIHIR KUMAR JHA And HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ADITYA KUMAR TRIVEDI ORAL JUDGMENT (Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MIHIR KUMAR JHA) Date: 11-09-2012 The sole appellant Balister Singh, having been convicted under [STATUTE] . and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life by the impugned judgment dated 6.9.1990 passed by the 3rd Additional Sessions Judge, Muzaffarpur in Sessions Trial No. 39 of 1989, has preferred this appeal. 2. The prosecution case as set out by the informant Rashidan Khatoon (P.W.5), wife of the deceased Rasul Mian, in her Fardbeyan (Exbt.-2) at 10 PM on 3.5.1988 in village Manika Manohar was to the extent that her husband working as a Mazdoor was called by one Mukul Razak as also his brother-in-law at about 5 PM on Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.408 of 1990 dt.11-09-2012 2 3.5.1988 for doing the work of engraving the stone meant for kitchen purposes (flykSV) and her husband Rasul Mian (deceased) had accompanied them. It is the case of the informant that later on, she came to know that in the evening, the aforesaid Mukul Razak as also his brother-in-law and this appellant Balister Singh had consumed toddy in the shop of Ram Chandra Paswan and when the dawn had set in , there was some scuffle and in such scuffle with her husband, she came to know from Naga Singh that her husband had sustained stab injury and on hearing this, she had gone to the place of occurrence along with male members of the village and had found her husband over the road near the Bathan of Nazir Mian having stab injury in his chest and blood was coming out of such injury. 3. She has also claimed that in the Fardbeyan itself that her husband, after being asked as with regard to the injury sustained by him, had said to informant that it was the appellant Balister Singh who had caused the Chhura injury as also had assaulted him. The informant has also reported to the police that having found her husband in a serious injured condition, she had taken him on a cot to her house as also had informed Dr. Bajrangi Singh for examining and treating her husband but in the meantime, her husband had succumbed to the injury sustained by him. In the Fardbeyan, she had named Husaini Mian (P.W.1), Md. Muslim (not examined) Hakim Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.408 of 1990 dt.11-09-2012 3 Mian (not examined) as the persons who had also the knowledge of the said occurrence. 4. According to the Fardbeyan of the informant P.W.5, her husband, at the time of his death, had kept on repeating as with regard to the Chhura injury caused on his person by the appellant. The motive for this occurrence, according to the informant, was an earlier family dispute wherein her married sister-in-law, the sister of the deceased, had an illicit relationship with the appellant and the deceased had sent her back to her Sasural the appellant, having initially developed friendship with the deceased, had ultimately taken the revenge by causing his death. 5. On the basis of the aforesaid Fardbeyan, Mushari P.S. Case No. 31 of 1988 was recorded by the police and after the investigation, the police had submitted charge-sheet only against the appellant while leaving Mukul Razak and the brother-in-law of Mukul Razak, the two other named persons in the First Information Report. The case being exclusively triable by sessions, after its commitment, the trial was conducted leading to the impugned judgment. 6. Mr. Chitranjan Sinha, learned senior counsel for the appellant, has submitted that there being no eyewitness to the occurrence, the case is virtually based on oral dying declaration of the deceased and the same would also not inspire confidence both on Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.408 of 1990 dt.11-09-2012 4 account of the absence of exact words stated by the deceased as also the inherent contradiction in the evidence of P.W.1 to P.W.5 who had stated about such dying declaration of the deceased. He has further submitted that in view of the medical evidence, there does not remain any iota of doubt that the deceased whose lungs was ruptured was not in a position to utter even a single word much less giving oral dying statement in presence of the P.W.1 to P.W.5. He has further proceeded to assail the conduct of the prosecution in suppressing the material independent witnesses including the all important Naga Singh from whom the informant had came to know about the injury on her husband as also Ram Chandra Paswan, the toddy shop owner where the appellant and two others were in company of the deceased after his being taken away from his house by two others, namely, Mukul Razak and his brother-in-law. 7. He has also highlighted the aspect that even when the informant had claimed that her husband had sustained bleeding injury on account of which his entire apparel had been stained with blood as also copious blood had spread over at the place of occurrence and yet the Investigating Officer did not find any blood at that place, inasmuch as, the entire place of occurrence was washed with water which in his view would go to show that the prosecution had tried to suppress the real version of the manner of occurrence as also the place Patna High Court CR. APP (DB) No.408 of 1990 dt.11-09-2012 5 of occurrence. He has, accordingly, summed up

Applicable IPC Section: 302

Statute Text:
Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. Murder. Whoever commits murder shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.