LexBHUDEO MANDAL & OTHERS versus STATE OF BIHAR
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y .. ¥"' .... BHUDEO MANDAL & OTHERS V. STATE OF BIHAR March 24, 1981 [S. MURTAZA fAZAL ALI, BAHARUL !SLAM, AND A. VARADARAJAN, JJ.) 291 Indian Penal Code 1860-S. 149·-Conviction under clear finding regarding common object of assembly-Necessity of. When the appellants wanted to irrigate the land they were prevented from doing so by the deceased as a result of which the !st appellant who is now dead gave a bhala blow to the deceased. The other appellants were supposed to have been armed with lathis but they did not cause any injuries either to the witnesses or to the deceased. The Sessions Judge convicted the l st appellant under section 304 Part I of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life and the other appellants under section 326/149 of the Indian Penal Code and senten- ced them to undergo 3 years' rigorous imprisonment but affirmed the acquittal of the individual charges under sections 323 and 325 I.P.C. The High Court while convicting the appellant under sections 325/149 of the I.P.C. has given no finding regarding the common object of the unlawful assembly. Accepting the appeal, the Court HELD : In the instant case, there is neither any evidence nor any finding that any of the ingredients of section 149 have been established by the prosecu- tion. Even on the prosecution case itself the occurrence took place as a result of an inigation dispute and the appellants were merely acting under a· bona fide claim or belief that they had the right to irrigate the land. There is no overt act attributed to any of the appellants in regard to the deceased and the mere fact that the appellants were armed with lathis by itself would not prove that they shared the common object with which the deceased was inspired. [292 G-H] 2. Before the High Court upheld the conviction of the appellants under sections 326/149 I.P.C. it should have recorded a clear finding as to what was the object of the unlawful assembly and if so whether the object was to commit murder, grievous hurt or simple hurt. [293 A] A B c D E F G 3. Whenever the High Court convicts any person or persons of an H offence with the aid of section 149 a clear finding regarding the common object of the assembly must be given and the evidence discussed must A B c D E F G H 292 SUPREME COURT REPORT [1981] 3 S.C.R. show not only the nature of the common object but also that the object was un- lawful. Before recording a conviction under section 149 of the l.P.C. the essen- tial ingredients of section 141 of the I.P.C. must be established. [293 DJ I CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION ; Criminal Appeal No. 365 of 1974. Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and Order dated 24.1.1974 of the Patna High Court at Patna in Criminal Appeal No. 306/ I 969. U. P. Singh for the Appellants. K. G. Bhaget and U. N. Prasad for the Respondent. The Judgment of the Court was delivered by FAZAL Au, J. This appeal by special leave is directed against the judgment of the Patna High Court dated 24.1.1974 and has been pre- ferred by appellants Dayanand Manda!, Bhubneshwar Manda!, Kuldip Manda!, Bhagwat Mandal, Nemo Manda!, and Udin Yadav. The occurrence seems to have arisen out of an irrigation dispute. Accord- ing to the prosecution case the appellants wanted to irrigate the land and when they were prevented from doing so, Mainu Manda! resisted as a result of which Bhudeo Manda! who is now dead gave a bhala blow to the deceased Mainu Manda!. So far as the other appellants are concerned, they are supposed to have been armed With laihis but they did not cause any injuries either to the witnesses or to the deceased. The Sessions Judge had convicted the accused Bhudeo Man- da! under section 304 Part I of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life and the other appellants under section 326/I 49 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced them to 3 years rigorous imprisonment but affirmed the acquittal of the accused of the individual charges under sections 323 and 325 of the Indian l'enal Code by the Sessions Judge. We have gone through the judgment of the High Court which while convicting the appellant under section 326/149 of the Indian Penal Code has given no finding regarding the common object of the unlawful assembly. Even on the prosecution case itself the occurrence took place as a result of an irrigati~n dispute and the appellants were merely acting
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