Ramjee Rai & Ors vs State Of Bihar

A First Information Report was lodged by Rajnath Singh (PW-3), brother of Baijnath Singh (deceased) alleging that on 21.8.1980 at about 4 in the afternoon he along with him was at their plot of land situated by the side of a Dhab in the north of village Dudhiyan where they had gone for cutting Masuria Crops. The Appellants together with Bharat Rai and Ganeshi Rai, variously armed, took them forcibly on a boat to the Dhab letting the boat moving freely. After the boat had proceeded some distance, they started assaulting the deceased. He, however, finding an opportunity in this behalf jumped from the boat and started swimming towards the higher ground, shouting and crying for help. Baijnath Singh died as a result of the assault and his dead body was carried away in their boat. It was stated that the occurrence had been seen by Satyanand Singh (PW-1), Kameshwar Singh (PW-2) and Pancham Singh (PW-5). It was alleged that in view of the flood conditions as also due to night fall, the report could not be lodged in the night. As regards motive for commission of the said offence, the informant alleged that the deceased had a piece of land near the house of the accused and they repeatedly used to pluck the maize and cut away the Masuria crop grown on that land as a result whereof the parties had been quarreling with each other. Allegedly, Baijnath Singh had also apprehended the accused cutting away his Masuria crop wherefor he had abused them in retaliation. The accused persons are said to be belonging to one family and they had been indulging in commission of theft and dacoity. The murder of Baijnath Singh was said to have committed in retaliation of the said incident. In the First Information Report, two accused were said to be carrying country made pistols while the rest were armed with gandasas, lathies and spears. The dead body was recovered after five days, i.e., 26.8.1980. The dead body was first seen by the Chowkidar (PW-4) of the village. He reported to the informant thereabout. He came and also identified the dead body. All the accused persons were convicted for commission of an offence under Section 302/34 read with Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life under Section 302/34 and five years rigorous imprisonment under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code by a judgment and order dated 31.7.1987. An appeal preferred thereagainst by the accused has been dismissed by the High Court by the impugned judgment.

PW-3 is the informant. The First Information Report was lodged at the earliest possible opportunity. The informant categorically stated that he not only saw the deceased being assaulted, he at the first opportunity jumped from the boat, swam across the Dhab and somehow escaped from the clutches of the Appellants. He categorically stated that he had gone to Akilpur, which was an out-post but the Officer-Incharge was not present there thence. He thereafter returned to his house and in the next morning came to the Danapur Police Station on a boat.

The dead body was also noticed by Ram Swarup Singh. The informant (PW-3) was informed thereabout. He also went to the spot and identified the dead body as that of his brother. The police authorities were also informed in regard thereto.

Dr. Sheonandan Barunwal, who examined himself as PW-6, proved the post mortem report. The dead body before him had been identified as that of Baijnath Singh by the constable, Rajnath Singh and the Chowkidar. The age of the deceased was said to be 35 years. The clothes were having a ganji, dhoti and a small chadar. The body was in a decomposed condition. Rigor mortis was absent. The body had three cut wounds. It was categorically stated that the hairs of scalp were intact. The post mortem report does not suggest that there was no mark on face or identification marks were totally absent. In his opinion, the death might have been due to amputation of hands. He categorically stated that the dead body was thrown in water and the soft parts were eaten away by the fish. According to him, it was difficult to assess the period past since death. But, according to him, it may be approximately 10 days.

Medical science has not achieved such perfection so as to enable a medical practitioner to categorically state in regard to the exact time of death. In a case of this nature, it was difficult to pinpoint the exact time of death. The autopsy surgeon told about the approximate time lag between the date of post mortem examination and the likely date of death. He did not explain the basis for arriving at his opinion.

It was, therefore, extremely difficult to purport the exact time of death of the deceased, more so when no sufficient reason was assigned in the post-mortem report."

Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, therefore, is clearly attracted in a case of this nature.

For the reasons aforementioned, we are of the opinion that no case has been made out for interference with the impugned judgment. The appeal is dismissed.