Case Facts:
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Criminal Appeal (SJ) No.341 of 2000 =========================================================== AGAINST THE JUDGMENT OF CONVICTION DATED 13.9.2000 AND ORDER OF SENTENCE DATED 14.9.2000, PASSED BY THE ASSISTANT SESSIONS JUDGE, ARARIA IN SESSIONS TRIAL NO. 315 OF 1976. =========================================================== 1. Jagarnath Singh, son of Kishun Singh. 2. Suraj Narain Singh @ Surya Narain Singh, son of late Munsi Singh. Both residents of village Gobindpur, P.S. Jadia, District Supaul. 3. Bhupendra Yadav, son of Deo Narain Yadav, Resident of village Gobindpur, P.S. Jadia, District Supaul. .... .... Appellants Versus The State of Bihar .... .... Respondent =========================================================== Appearance : For the Appellants : Mr. Ambika Bhagat, Advocate Mr. Kamal Kumar Sinha, Advocate For the State : Mr. Sujit Kumar Singh, A.P.P. =========================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE JUSTICE SMT. SHEEMA ALI KHAN ORAL JUDGMENT Date: 14-08-2012 S.A. Khan, J. A petition has been filed in which it is said that appellant no. 1, Jagarnath Singh was killed by miscreants on 22.10.2004 for which a case has been instituted as Jadia P.S. Case No. 101 of 2004, dated 23.10.2004 under [STATUTE] by his son Dinesh Kumar. The Trial Court will verify this fact and, if it is found to be true, the appeal of Jagarnath Singh shall stand abated or else he would be covered by the judgment delivered in this Court. 2. This appeal is directed against the judgment and Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.341 of 2000 dt.14-08-2012 2 / 7 2 conviction and order of sentence dated 13.9.2004 and 14.9.2004 respectively, passed in Sessions Trial No. 315 of 1976 convicting all the appellants to undergo R.I. for 10 years under [STATUTE] . Appellant no. 1, Jagarnath Singh was further sentenced to undergo R.I. for 10 years under [STATUTE] . It was ordered that both the sentences under [STATUTE] imposed upon Jagarnath Singh shall run concurrently. 3. The occurrence is said to have taken place in the night of 7/8th of February, 1975. It is alleged that the informant Jaiprakash Paswan (P.W. 7) was sleeping in his house, he woke up on an alarm being raised by his mother and sister. The informant opened the door of his room and came out in the Angan. He saw 8- 10 dacoits were in his house who surrounded and assaulted him. A lamp was burning in the room of his mother and some of the dacoits were also flashing their torches. In the light of the lamp and the torch light, he identified all the three appellants. It is also stated in the First Information Report that Sridhar Paswan, father of the informant had identified the accused Bhupendra Singh who is a ‘Sipahi’ of Rameshwar Singh. Dilip Paswan, the brother of the informant (P.W. 4) claims to have identified Suraj Singh. In the further investigation the house of Jagarnath Singh was searched and Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.341 of 2000 dt.14-08-2012 3 / 7 3 it is said that three Thalis were recovered from his house and thus Jagarnath Singh has also been charged for an offence under [STATUTE] . During trial 11 witnesses have been examined in this case. 5 persons were charge sheeted out of which 2 have died during trial. 4. P.W. 1, Jholi Paswan is the nephew of the informant. He has identified 4 dacoits. According to this witness the appellants are better of financially than the family of this witness. Infact he says that he does the work of Mazdoor in their house. 5. P.W. 3, Bhubneshwar Paswan is the cousin of the informant. He identifies appellant no. 1. He came to know about the other dacoits through his family members. This witness also states that Jagarnath Singh has vast property and is better off financially than their family. The appellants have tried to make out a case that because there was a dispute between Etwari and Jagarnath in which the informant and his family were supporters of Jagarnath the appellants have been dragged in the case of dacoity. 6. P.W. 4 is the brother of the informant. He claims to have identified Suraj Singh in the light of lamp. He admits that there were 14-15 dacoits present in the house at the time of dacoity. 7. P.W. 5, Hriday Devi is the mother of the Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.341 of 2000 dt.14-08-2012 4 / 7 4 informant who supports the factum of dacoity and claims to have identified Bhupendra, appellant no. 3. She further states that Bhupendra is the Sipahi (Sipahi in that area means who is employed for looking after the agricultural property) of Rameshwar Singh. 8. P.W. 6, Sridhar Paswan is the father of the informant. According to him his son was an M.L.A. at the time of occurrence. He admits that the appellants lived in village Khajuri although he does not know the area of land owned by them. 9. P.W. 7 is the informant of this case. He has stated that he recognized all the appellants along with two others who have been named in the First Information Report. According to him he along with his father and mother had received injuries inflicted by the dacoits. He claims to know the appellants since his childhood. He further states that Yoganand and Etwari are on litigating terms. It is stated at paragraph 19 that Etwari’s house was burnt in which Yoganand and Bhupendra were accused and the father of the informant was a witness. He accepts that he has worked as a Mazdoor in the house of Jagarnath Singh. 10. P.W. 8 is a witness regarding recovery from the house of Jagarnath Singh whereas P.Ws. 9, 10 and 11 are formal witnesses and have proved the First Information Report and other Patna High Court CR. APP (SJ) No.341 of 2000 dt.14-08-2012 5 / 7 5 exhibits including T.I. chart regarding the recovery. 11. Learned counsel for the appellants submits that the appellants are from the same village and had their

Applicable IPC Section: 395

Statute Text:
Section 395 of the Indian Penal Code. Dacoity. Whoever commits dacoity shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.