State Of U.P vs Sattan @ Satyendra & Ors

Smt. Bala (PW.1) who is alleged to have herself received injuries during the course of incident got the first information report Ex. Ka. I scribed by Km. Guddi, her niece. Km. Guddi is also alleged to have sustained injuries during the course of the same incident but she was murdered before she could be examined in the trial court as a witness.

The case as set out in the first information report in short was that some incident had occurred in the year 1986 between family members of complainant and accused Mukesh and Guddu sons of Rajveer and the matter was reported at the police station from complainant's side. A case was proceeding in court at Hapur some time before the present incident and the police had raided the house of accused Mukesh. Mukesh and Guddu, came to the house of Sheo Pal Singh and gave threats to them saying that they had not done good by getting his house raided. The accused persons were thus bearing enmity with Sheo Pal and others.

6 It was further alleged in the report lodged by Smt. Bala that in the night between 30/31 August, 1994 at about 12.30 A.M. Mukesh and Guddu of her own village carrying country made pistols with them and accused Sattan of village Lohari also having a country made pistols alongwith 4-5 unknown persons who were also having weapons like pistols, Dalkati, Lathi etc. entered into her house. At that time electric bulbs were emitting light inside and out side the house. The family members of her Jeth, Sheo pal Singh were sleeping on cots outside the house. She herself (Smt. Bala) was resting inside the house, while her husband Shiv Singh was sleeping on the roof. The accused persons after making entry into the house immediately started hurling abuses by name to her Jeth Sheo Pal Singh saying that he was acting as an informer to police, hence he and his family would be eliminated completely. Hearing it Sheo Pal got up and started running but he was chased by accused Mukesh and Sattan and was shot dead in the Gher of Devendra. Mukesh and Sattan then said that entire family should be finished and thereafter accused persons killed Kunti Devi, wife; of Sheo Pal, Khushal son of Sheo Pal and Manjeet son of Shiv Singh. They also injured Neetu son of Sheo Pal, Guddi, daughter of Sheo Pal Singh and baby Kapil about 3 years old son of' Shiv Singh. Mukesh and Sattan with his associates climbed over the roof and murdered her husband Shiv Singh on the cot on 7 which he was sleeping. On hearing the sound of firing, villagers were awakened and when they tried to come near the first informant's house, accused persons made indiscriminate firing and said that if any one dared to come nearer he would be shot dead and further that if anyone of them would give evidence he would meet the same fate as that of deceased persons. On the threats given by accused persons villagers retreated to their houses and closed their doors. The firing incident caused a panic in the village and the miscreants left the scene of occurrence brandishing their weapons.

At the trial from the prosecution side in all nine witnesses were produced. Smt. Bala (PW 1) widow of deceased Shiv Singh corroborated the facts stated by her in the FIR and further added that the assailants were 9 ten in number, out of whom she identified Mukesh, Guddu, Rakesh, Naresh, Pappu, Sattan, Haripal son of Kiran Singh, Haripal son of Ram Charan, Dhirendra alias Dheeraj. She further stated that Rakesh and Dhirendra were having Balkati and rest had country made pistols. She also testified that Sheo Pal, his wife Kunti Dcvi, his son Khushal, her Husband Shiv Singh and her son Manjeet were murdered on the spot by the assailants with their respective weapons, Neetu son of Sheo Pal, Km. Guddi, Baby Kapil and she herself also suffered injuries at the hands of the accused persons. She further stated that had the matter between accused and deceased persons been not got compromised by accused Kripal, Rajveer, Devendra, Brij Pal and Ram Pal, the incident in question would not have occurred. In this way it was suggested that the aforesaid accused persons hatched a conspiracy with the actual assailants to get the entire family of Sheo Pal and Shiv Singh wiped out. She is the only eye witness examined at the trial.

24. If upon taking an overall global view of all the circumstances in the light of the aforesaid propositions and taking into account the answers to the questions posed by way of the test for the rarest of rare cases, the circumstances of the case are such that death sentence is warranted, the court would proceed to do so.

27. The case at hand falls in the rarest of rare category. The depraved acts of the accused call for only one sentence that is death sentence. 27

29. Murder of six members of a family including helpless women and children having been committed in a brutal, diabolic and bristly manner and the crime being one which is enormous in proportion which shocks the conscious of law, the death sentence as awarded in respect of accused Sattan and Guddu was the appropriate sentence and the High Court ought not to have altered it. So far as the acquittal of the Hari Pal son of Kiran Singh and Hari Pal son of Ram Charan are concerned, the High Court has noted that the evidence so far as their involvement is concerned was not totally free from doubt. The High Court have analysed the factual scenario in detail to direct the acquittal. We find no reason to differ from the conclusions of the High Court. The acquittal as directed stands affirmed. So far as other four respondents i.e. appellants in Criminal Appeal No.2237 of 1999 is concerned they were charged under Section 120 B. It has been recorded by the High Court that except the suspicion which the informant was having in her mind about the involvement of these four accused persons there was neither any direct or circumstantial evidence to fasten the charge of criminal conspiracy. That being so the High Court was justified in 28 directing their acquittal. Criminal Appeal No. 314 is allowed. The State's appeal so far as Sattan and Upendra are concerned is allowed to the extent that the death sentence as was awarded by the trial court is restored so far as they are concerned. The appeal fails so far as respondents Hari Pal son of Kiran Singh and Hari Pal son of Ram Charan are concerned.

30. We record our appreciation for the able assistance rendered by Mr. M. Karapaga Vinayagam, learned Amicus Curae.