Criminal Appeal (SJ) No. 114 OF 1996 In the matter of an appeal under Section 374(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. ************ 1. Thakur Rama Shankar Singh, S/o Late Ram Nandan Singh. 2. Bhupendra Kumar Singh, S/o Sukhdeo Singh. Both are R/o Village-Balwa Kuari, P.S.- Sadar Hajipur, District-Vaishali. ……(Appellants) Versus THE STATE OF BIHAR-------(Respondent) ************* For the Appellant : Mr. Abhay Kumar Singh-I, Adv. : Mr. Bharat Bhushan, Adv. For the State : Mr. Nand Kumar, APP. ************** P R E S E N T THE HON'BLE JUSTICE SMT. ANJANA PRAKASH Anjana Prakash, J. 1. The appellants have been convicted under Section 364 IPC and sentenced to RI for three years by a judgment dated 04.06.1996 passed by the 4th Additional Sessions Judge, Vaishali at Hajipur in Sessions Tiral No. 23 of 1990. 2. The prosecution case is that one Ram Ishwar Singh who was the cousin of the informant used to look after all the property went missing on 26.03.1985 for which an informatory petition filed on 28.03.1985 and a substantive case on was filed on 02.01.1987 when he came to know that the appellants had filed a forged death certificate of the said Ram Ishwar Singh. 3. During trial, the prosecution in all examined ten witnesses on its behalf out of whom P.W. 1 is on the fact that Ram Ishwar Singh had been last seen in the company of the appellant No. 2. P.W. 2, P.W. 3, P.W. 4 are also on the same point. P.W. 6 is the son of the informant 2 has merely on the point that the appellants were probably involved in the occurrence and that the appellants were trying to obtain a false death certificate of Ram Ishwar Singh. P.W. 7 is also on the same point. P.W. 10 is part Investigating Officer and P.W. 9 is the Panchayat Sevak who had inquired about the death certificate of Ram Ishwar Singh. The Investigating Officer has been examined as Court Witness No. 1. P.W. 8 is the informant and merely on the point that Ram Ishwar Singh had gone missing and that the appellants were trying to use his forged death certificate in his regard. 4. From the evidence on record, I find that there is complete want of any evidence which would substantiate the charge under Section 364 IPC and therefore it is difficult to sustain the conviction of the appellants. 5. In the result, the appeal is allowed and the judgment dated 04.06.1996 passed by the 4th Additional Sessions Judge, Vaishali at Hajipur in Sessions Trial No. 23 of 1990 is set aside. The appellants are discharged of the liability of their bail bonds. (Anjana Prakash, J.) Patna High Court, Patna, Dated, the 12th May, 2011. NAFR/Vikash/-