Iqbal & Anr vs State Of U.P

2. Case of the prosecution is that on the intervening night i.e. on 21/22.09.1979, the complainant-Patia Singh (PW1) was sleeping in his house. His brothers Saran Singh, Sukhbeer Singh and his children were sleeping in their house. Both the houses were adjacent to each other. In the midnight at about 1.00 o’clock, PW1-Patia Singh heard the noise of gun firing and in the light of torch, he saw that in the house of his brother Saran Singh, about 14-15 dacoits were looting the property and that two of them on the roofs and two dacoits were standing on the gate holding guns and they were continuously firing. All the inmates of the house witnessed the incident in the torch light and electric light emanating from tube well. On raising alarm, the villagers came out to help them and they were carrying torches and they warned the dacoits from behind the walls. When Saran Singh tried to control the dacoits, the dacoits opened fire and he was shot dead. The miscreants looted the articles in about one and half hours and fled away from the scene.

3. On the basis of the statement of the complainant–Patia Singh (PW1), a case was registered under Section 396 IPC in FIR No.258/1979 in P.S. Parikshitgarh, Meerut on 22.09.1979. PW8-Nepal Singh (SI) had taken up the investigation and he investigated the spot and collected the list of looted articles from Jay Singh and Sukhbeer Singh. Harpal Singh-PW4(SI) conducted the inquest on the body of the deceased Saran Singh. Autopsy on the dead body was performed on 23.09.1979 by Dr. S.P. Goel and he opined that the death was due to gunshot injuries. PW8-Nepal Singh recorded the statement of the witnesses and seized the torches, lanterns and prepared the site map and recovery memo. The accused were arrested on the night of 8/9.10.1979 and the test identification parade was conducted in District Jail, Meerut on 15.11.1979 by PW6-Seeta Ram (Special Executive Magistrate). PW7-Bhanu Pratap (SI) had taken up further investigation and received the report of test identification parade. On the basis of investigation conducted by PW7 and his predecessor investigating officers, chargesheet was filed against the accused-appellants, namely, Iqbal and Khurshed and against non-appealing accused, namely, Kripa s/o Buddhu and Kishnu s/o Ram Chander under Section 396 IPC.

4. To bring home the guilt of the appellants, prosecution examined as many as ten witnesses and exhibited documents and material objects. Upon appreciation of evidence, VIth Additional Sessions Judge, Meerut held that the prosecution proved the case beyond reasonable doubt and vide judgment dated 23.12.1980, convicted the accused-appellants and the non-appealing accused under Section 396 IPC and sentenced them to undergo ten years rigorous imprisonment. Aggrieved by the verdict of conviction, the appellants namely, Iqbal, Kishnu and Khurshed, preferred Criminal Appeal No.2 of 1981 and Kripa filed Criminal Appeal No.5 of 1981 in the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad. After three decades of delay, the High Court vide judgment dated 14.05.2012, dismissed both the criminal appeals and thereby confirmed the conviction and also the sentence of imprisonment imposed on them. Aggrieved by the dismissal of their appeal, the appellants herein, namely, Iqbal and Khurshed, have preferred this appeal assailing the correctness of the verdict of conviction.

8. PW1-Patia Singh, who is the complainant, has narrated the incident stating that about 1.00 o’clock in the night of 21/22.09.1979 about 14-15 dacoits came and looted the house of his brother Saran Singh. On hearing alarm, villagers, namely, Ganga Saran, Daya Chand and Devi Singh who were having torches came and took shelter in PW1’s house and with the torch light, he was able to see the dacoits. PW1 further stated that after the commission of the dacoity when he entered into his brother’s house he saw his brother-Saran Singh being shot dead. He has stated that there is a road of three and a half yards width between his house and his brothers’ houses and that other villagers witnessed the incident from the shelter of his house in the sitting room.

20. Conviction of the appellants under Section 396 IPC and the sentence imposed on them is set aside and this appeal is allowed. The appellants are ordered to be set at liberty forthwith unless they are required in any other case.

May 6, 2015