Case: Bhagwan Bux Singh and Another Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh

Appellant 1 Bhagwan Bux Singh has been convicted under Section 302 and sentenced to death, while Mohan Singh appellant 2 has been convicted under Section 302/34, IPC, for having aided appellant 1 in causing the death of the deceased, and sentenced to imprisonment for life. The trial Court as also the High Court have given full narration of the prosecution case, which appears to be the result of an old family feud between the parties. The murder of the deceased took place on October 9 at about 6 p.m. in a bazar when Mohan Singh appears to have entered into an altercation with the deceased and caught hold of him, and thereafter appellant 1 inflicted several banka (a sharp cutting instrument) blows on the various parts of the body of the deceased, as a result of which he fell down and died. There are as many as nine incised injuries on the various parts of the body of the deceased, particularly the skull, and according to the doctor, the death of the deceased was due to shock and haemorrhage caused by the skull injury.

Court's reasoning:
3. As regards appellant 2, Mohan Singh, it appears from the FIR that he was not catching hold of the hands of the deceased at the time when the deceased was being assaulted by appellant 1 as is the prosecution case developed in the court.Here also, there is no mention that Mohan Singh had caught hold of the hands of the deceased for the purpose of aiding appellant 1. Thus, there is no reliable evidence to show the participation of appellant Mohan Singh in the assault on the deceased, and in the these circumstances, therefore, Section 34 would have no application so far as appellant 2 is concerned.5. As regards the question of sentence of appellant 1 is concerned, in the peculiar circumstances of the case and having regard, particularly, to the fact that the said appellant was sentenced to death 2 1/2 years ago, we feel that the extreme penalty of death is not called for and should be commuted to imprisonment for life.