STATE OF U.P. v. KAPIL DEO AND ANOTHER

Citation: [1991] 3 S.C.R. 692

Court: Supreme Court of India

Bench: KULDIP SINGH, M.M. PUNCHHI

Case summary

The Trial Judge vide his judgment dated October 27, 1970 convicted Vidya Sagar, accused for an offence under section 302 I.

Judgment text

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by PUNCHHI, J. These two Criminal Appeals have common roots and are being disposed of together. They have arisen in the following circumstances: Vinod Kumar, aged about 12 years, was a poor boy of Village Lar, District Deoria, in the State of Uttar Pradesh. He is the victim in . • the instant crime. On or about July l, 1968, the said Vinod Kumar was _lr1 employed by Kapil Deo accused as a domestic help in his house at Village Lar. Kapil Deo, his wife Smt. Sheo Kumari, his son Vidya Sagar, and his brother Ramapati were riving together in that house at village Lar. All the four are the accused involved herein. At about 4. 00 p. m. on July 16, 1968, Vinod Kumar deceased and Vidya Sagar · STATE OF U. P. v. KAP! L DEO [PUNCHH! , J,] 695 • accused were playing with some other boys near the house of Kapil Dea.. Kapil Deo and Ramapati on arrival there scolded the boys for playing there and took Vinod Kumar, servant and Vidya Sagar, accused in .

the house asking the other boys to scatter away. Those boys included Mohan Singh, P. W. 1, Hridyanand, P. W. 2 and Akhilanand, P. W. 3. Despite there being asked to go away, still the boys resumed their play after a while. They then heard the cry of Vinod Kumar and by climbing a grilled window (jangla) of the house of the accused, they could 'see the crime being committed in another room of the house which had a door ajar making vision possible. Their version was that they had seen Kapil Dea and Ramapati holding Vinod Kumar against the -~ wall of the room and Vidya Sagar cutting the throat of Vinod Kumar with a big knife. The eye witnesses raised an alarm. Vi . Besides the ratio in Duvvur Dasratharammareddy'scase (supra) too comes in aid of the accused-respondents so as to merit dismissal of Criminal Appeal No. 99 of ·1987 as relating to them. There . is no evidence against Sheo Kumari accused of any kind Worth discussing. For the foregoing reasons, we dismiss both the appeals Nos.

579 of 1976 and 99 of 1987. N. P. V. .. \ppeals dismissed.