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All the sentences were directed to run concurrently.

2. The factual matrix of the case as unfolded from the first information report and investigation of the case are that the informant filed a written report with police station Tilhar, District Shahjahanpur (Ext.Ka-1) on 16.8.1981, wherein it is stated that he is resident of Village Khanpur, Police Station Tilhar, District Shahjahanpur. In the night of 15.8.1981, at about 24:00 hours, the informant Bhudhar Lal was at his house in the village Khanpur whereas his brother Chhattar, his son Chhotey Lal and Anant Ram, his son-in-law Jai Chand, his wife and daughter (Maina Devi) were in the house of Chhattar, Ram Swaroop, the son of the informant was also present there. Chhattar's married daughter Maina Devi had visited her parental place together with her husband and both were in the house of Chhattar. His co-villager Sripal was having evil eye upon said Maina Devi. On 15.8.1981, at around 24:00 hours, four accused namely, Sripal, Satyapal, Chhotey (all the three being resident of same village) and Ravindra Singh (resident of village Hakimpur) came and mounted on the roof of the house. Sripal was armed with a double barrel countrymade gun, Satyapal was armed with a countrymade pistol and battery torch, Chhotey was armed with countrymade single barrel gun and Ravindra was armed with a lathi. Ravindra stood at the door of Chhattar's house, while remaining three accused entered the house. Accused Sripal aimed his gun at Chhattar while accused Satyapal and Chhotey caught hold of Smt. Maina, daughter of Chhattar and dragged her. Chhattar's wife raised an alarm whereupon complainant and Balak Ram came running to the spot and challenged the accused. Chhattar also challenged them and tried to catch hold of the barrel of the gun of Sripal whereupon Sripal opened fire on Chhattar due to which he suffered firearm injuries. On this, the witnesses Chhotey son of Chhattar and Ram Swaroop, son of Bhoodhar Lal caught hold of accused Sripal. Thereupon, accused Chhotey fired shots at witness Ram Swaroop and witness Chhotey by his gun, which resulted loss of grip of the witnesses on Sripal. Satyapal also fired a shot which hit witnesses Anant Ram and Chhotey. Thereafter, the accused persons caught hold of the witness Chhotey and Jai Chand, son-in-law of Chhattar and took them away by dragging them with a view to kill them and Chhotey Lal returned back after some time having been released but Jai Chand did not come back. The incident was seen by a number of villagers. The FIR was lodged on the next day i.e. 16.8.1981 at 7:20 AM at police station concerned which is Ext.Ka-16 on record. The FIR was lodged vide Crime No.341 if 1981, under Sections 452, 307, 364 IPC. The written report Ext.Ka-1 dated 16.8.1981 was scribed by Surajpal, son of complainant Bhoodhar Lal and bore his thumb impression. A case was registered vide GD report No.12, time 7:20 hours, on 16.8.1981, copy thereof is marked as Ext.Ka-17. The four injured namely, Chhattar Lal, Chhotey Lal, Ram Swaroop and Anant Ram were carried from place of incident to police station and after lodging of FIR under Sections 452/307/364/341 IPC, medico legal examination of Chhotey Lal, Ram Swaroop and Anant Ram was conducted at male medical hospital, Tilhar at the instance of police, between 9:10 to 10:30 hours. Their injury reports are marked as Ext.Ka-2 and Ka-3. Injured Chhattar Lal was also taken to hospital for medical examination but Dr. R.P. Gulati (PW-5) had found him dead and he prepared a death report (Ext.Ka-5). These three injured were also subjected to X-ray examination and their X-ray plates are marked as Ext.Ka-9 to Ka-13 and their X-ray reports are marked as Ext.Ka-6 to Ka-8, respectively by radiological Dr. P.S. Verma on 17.8.1981. Injured Chhatter Lal was examined at the hospital on the same day and was found dead on account of death of Chhatter Lal, Section 302 IPC was added in penal sections vide G.D. Report No.24, Time 10:45 AM dated 16.8.1981 (Ext.Ka-18).

8. PW-1 Bhudhar Lal, the informant, is real brother of the deceased and father of injured witness Ram Swaroop. He fully supported the FIR version in his sworn testimony before the Court. He stated that the occurrence took place in the night of 6.8.1981, at 24:00 hours. The police station situates at the distance of nine miles from village Khanpur where the incident occurred. His brother Chhatter Lal had been seriously injured by the gunshot fired at him by accused Shripal. Witnesses Ram Swaroop (PW-3), Chhotey (PW-2) and Anant Ram had also been injured by the gunshot fired at them by other accused Chhotey and Satyapal. Injured witnesses namely Chhotey Lal and Anant Ram are sons of deceased Chhatter and witness Ram Swaroop is son of the witness. He stated that house of Chhatter situates in the east of the village. His house consists of two exits one eastwards and other southwards. These exits were devoid of any door or chaukhat. When one enters in the house of Chhatter from east opening, a courtyard lies there. A room is made in the west of the courtyard, which was having a thatched shed. This room was also without any door or door-coast (chaukhat). His house is adjacent to the hosue of his brother Chhattar and lies westward to his house. A muddy pathway intervenes between the house of the witness and his brother. Sripal, is real brother Satyapal and Chhotey Lal working with them. Accused Ravindra Singh was resident of village Hakimpur, who started living in his village 4-5 months prior to the incident and had constructed a thatched house there. He also worked with Sripal and Satyapal. The witness was sitting on a cot inside his house in the fateful night, which was lightened by light of full moon. It was moon night. He heard noise emerging from eastwards and he rushed towards east door of house of Chhater wielding a lathi. He saw accused Sripal armed with a DBBL Gun, who stood near the cot of Chhattar and had pointed out his gun towards him. Accused Sripal was armed with a countrymade pistol and was also having a battery torch. Accused Chhotey was armed with a SBBL Gun, who stood in front of the door of the room (kothari) of Chhatter inside his house. Accused Ravindra Singh stood on south door of the house of Chhatter. Smt. Maina Devi, the daughter of the Chhatter, wife and sons of Chhatter were also present there. His son Ram Swaroop and Jai Chand, son-in-law of Chhatter were also present there. Accused Sripal asked Satyapal and Chhottey to drag and produce Smt. Maina whereupon Satyapal and Chhotey dragged her up to 2-4 paces. Wife of Chhatter raised an alarm. Chhatter tried to catch hold of the gun of Sripal whereupon Sripal opened a fire by his gun at him and he got injured. Ram Swaroop, the son of witness was lying on other cot together with Chhotey Lal. Chhotey Lal and Ram Swaroop caught hold of Sripal but Sripal exhorted accused Chhotey to open fire whereupon accused Chhotey opened fire by his gun, which hit Ram Swaroop and Chhotey Lal. Thereafter, accused Sripal also opened fire by his tamancha (countrymade pistol), which hit Anant Ram and Chhotey. Satyapal and Chhotey dragged Smt. Maina up to 2-4 paces but due to hue and cry they left her and took away Jai Chand and Chhotey Lal while speaking that take them to the sugar cane field and kill them. They took the abductees namely Jai Chand and Chhotey Lal towards sugar cane field. Chhotey Lal came back by getting him rescued but Jai Chand had not came. He got the written report scribed by his son Surajpal on the place of incident in the light of lantern and affixed his thumb impression thereon after being read over and explained its contents to him, on which Ext.Ka-1 has been marked. The witness further stated that when the accused caught hold of Smt. Maina, he got apprised of the fact that the accused were having evil eye on her. The informant and witnesses took the injured Chhatter, Ram Swaroop, Chhotey Lal and Anant Ram to police station by laying them on a bullock cart. They were crying at that time. He filed the written report at police station. The injured were sent for medico legal examination at Government Hospital by police but Chhatter expired as soon as he reached at hospital. The witness stated in cross-examination that on Ext.Ka-1, he affixed his thumb impression by ball point pain. The scribe Surajpal did not accompany him to police station. He visited the hospital from police station and went back to his home when dead body was moved from government hospital, Tilhar to District Headquarter, Shahjahanpur. He got a copy of FIR at 10:00 AM on same day. He came to Shahjahanpur in the evening and stayed there in the night. Jai Chand met him at Shahjahanpur at around 12:00 Noon at the place where the dead body of Chhater was brought. The witness denied the defence suggestion that on fateful night Jai Chand and Smt. Maina were not present in the house of Chhater Lal (deceased).

19. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that the incident occurred way back in the year 1981 and thus 43 years have passed since the date of occurrence, which fell in the intervening night of 15/16.8.1981 as per the prosecution case. Learned trial court convicted all the four named accused persons for charges levelled against them i.e. under Sections 366/511, 458, 364 IPC and 307, 307/34, 302/34 IPC and accused were convicted and sentenced for various terms in the impugned judgement and order. He next submitted that during the pendency of present appeal, three accused persons namely, Sripal, Satyapal and Ravindra Thakur died and the appeal has been directed to be abated by orders of this Court qua them and only accused Chhotey is surviving at present. The prosecution case as set up does not inspire confidence. The motive attributed to accused persons in FIR as well as in evidence of witnesses is that the accused appellant Sripal was having evil eye on married daughter of deceased Chhatter namely Maina Devi, who had visited her parental place alongwith her husband few days ago the incident. Sripal alongwith three other accused persons committed house trespass in the mid night and tried to abduct said Maina Devi and two accused namely, Satyapal and Chhotey tried to grab Maina Devi, which resulted in firing by accused persons on deceased Chhatter Lal and also on witnesses Chhotey Lal, Ram Swaroop and Anant Ram. There is neither any allegation nor evidence that Sripal, the main accused had himself grabbed Maina Devi or tried to take her away. In fact neither Maina Devi nor Jai Chand were present in the house and they were planted only to set up a false prosecution case. Neither Maina Devi appeared in witness box nor her husband Jai Chand appeared as a witness in support of the fact that what occurred with them when the accused forcefully took him away alongwith witness Chhotey from the place of incident to a nearby sugar cane field. The witnesses who were close relatives of Jai Chand failed to explain in their evidence that what actually occurred with him in between incident and his subsequent appearance on next day at District Headquarter at around 12:00 PM at the time of postmortem. He next submitted that the injuries of injured Chhotey Lal, Anant Ram and Ram Swaroop were found simple by the Doctor, who examined them. If the accused had intended to kill the witnesses, they would have fired fatal shot at them. These anomalies itself created a reasonable doubt on prosecution version and evidence. He also submitted that PW-1 the informant had stated in cross-examination that he had affixed his thumb impression on written report Ext.Ka-1 by ink of same ball point pain by which his son Surajpal scribed the report but in fact it is apparent by naked eye that the thumb impression is marked by stamp pad which was not supposed to be there in the house of the informant. The stamp pad usually remains at police station and marking a thumb impression by stamp pad itself suggests that the thumb impression was made at police station and also suggests that the written report was prepared at police station and not at the house of the informant as stated by him in his evidence. The preparation and marking of thumb impression on written report at police station strongly indicated that the FIR was product of consultation with police and not a natural outcome of the state of affairs which lead to the incident. Inasmuch as PW-5, Dr. R.P. Gulati, who conducted medico legal examination of the injuries of witnesses Chhotey Lal, Ram Swaroop and Anant Ram have opined that the injuries were caused by some hard and blunt object although the injured had stated that these were caused by firearm. Thus, there is medical inconsistency in eye-witness account and a medical evidence. On perusal of FIR version itself, it is manifest that the accused persons were not having common intention of committing murder of deceased Chhatter and even on taking the statement of witnesses on its face value, it can be easily discerned that the incident occurred on spur of the moment and it was not pre-planned. In any manner, the surviving appellant Chhotey cannot be saddled with charge of committing murder of deceased Chhatter where there is specific allegation and evidence that the fatal shot was fired at him by appellant Sripal (since deceased). The evidence of attempt to commit abduction of Smt. Maina Devi is quite unbelievable and it is quite unnatural that if the accused intended to abduct Maina Devi in the incident, why they had taken witness Chhotey Lal and his brother-in-law Jai Chand instead with them. The entire prosecution case is suspicious and highly doubtful and the appellant deserves to be acquitted of all charges.

25. On re-appreciation of evidence appearing on record in the light of submissions of learned counsel for the parties, we are of the considered opinion that there is no infirmity in finding of learned trial court while recording verdict of guilt with regard to complicity of deceased appellant Sripal for charge under Section 302 IPC, which resulted to causing death of deceased Chhatter Lal, the brother of the informant, at given date, time and place. From evidence on record, this fact is duly proved that in the intervening night of 15/16.8.1981, at about 12:00 PM, Sripal accompanied with Satyapal, Chhotey and Ravindra Singh committed house trespass in the house of Chhatter, situated at village Khanpur, Police Station Tilhar, District Shahjahanpur with intent to abduct Smt. Maina Devi, married daughter of deceased, who had come to her parental place prior to the incident alongwith her husband Jai Chand either with intent to subject her to illicit intercourse with him or to marry her forcefully as from evidence of witnesses of fact, this is proved that Sripal was having evil eye on the said lady but he could not succeed in his nefarious design due to intervention of deceased Chhatter and witnesses, who are his family members. Present appellant Chhotey and co-accused Satyapal caught hold of Maina Devi and tried to drag her on instruction of main accused Sripal. We find no misappreciation of evidence on part of learned trial court on this score and affirm conviction of the appellants including the present surviving appellant Chhotey Lal for charge under Section 366/511 IPC.