Mool Chandra Sharma and Another vs State of U.P.

Heard learned Counsel for the applicants-Appellants and the learned Additional Government Advocate on the applications for bail moved u/s 389 Code of Criminal Procedure along with instant appeals.

Appellants-Mool Chandra Sharma, Amit Sharma and Chhote Lal Sharma have been convicted under Sections 302/34 Indian Penal Code and sentenced for maximum term of life imprisonment with fine stipulation vide judgment and order dated 15.10.2010 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Court No. 3, Unnao, in Sessions Trial No. 490 of 2006.

We have carefully gone through the judgment and record of lower court, including FIR (Exhibit Ka-1), postmortem report and statement of witnesses, namely, Kumari Anuradha Sharma-complainant (PW-1) and Bechelal (PW-3), who is said to have accompanied the deceased. This case seems to be unique where FIR was lodged by the complainant on 27.04.2006 with respect to an incident dated 17.04.2006 in which her brother Jawaharlal Sharma is said to have died an unnatural death.

In the FIR the complainant has stated that her brother-Jawaharlal Sharma (deceased) had gone from her house in some marriage party and later on his dead-body was recovered from which it comes out that he has died an unnatural death. Though the complainant had approached various police stations for lodging her FIR but the same was not registered and ultimately on the intervention of the Director General of Police the FIR was registered on 27.04.2006. In the FIR, in column of the accused, four persons have been named, but it is surprising that No. role has been assigned to them by the complainant and in the court the complainant has categorized role of the accused as she was told by Bechelal that the incident had taken place on 17.04.2006 wherein the accused persons had beaten the deceased by 2 ft Dandas.

Argument advanced by the learned Counsel for the Appellants is that had it been in the knowledge of the complainant that her brother-Jawaharlal Sharma (deceased) has been done to death, she could easily mention the same in the FIR lodged after about 10 days; even-Bechelal (PW-3) has stated that he had narrated story of commission of the crime to the complainant, but right from the very beginning of the FIR it is silent and in the statement before court the prosecution has tried to develop the case for falsely implicating the accused persons and one of the accused, namely, Prem Shankar Sharma has been acquitted of the charges mainly on the ground that he was instigating and role of beating the deceased has not been assigned to him. It is stated that all the Appellants were on bail during the course of trial and they did not misuse the liberty of bail granted to them. It is also stated that the appeals will take considerable long time for reaching on their justiciable conclusion.

Taking into consideration overall aspects of the matter, we find it a fit case for bail.

Let Appellants-Mool Chandra Sharma, Amit Sharma and Chhote Lal Sharma, convicts of aforesaid sessions trial, be released on bail on their furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of Chief Judicial Magistrate concerned.

Realization of half of the fine is stayed and remaining half of the fine shall be deposited by the Appellants within one month from the date of their release on bail.

Chief Judicial Magistrate concerned is directed to transmit to this Court photocopies of bonds and sureties filed by the Appellants to be preserved in the record maintained here.