PATNA, India, May 15 -- Patna High Court issued the following judgment on April 10:

1. Heard learned counsel appearing on behalf of petitioner and learned A.P.P. for the State.

2. The present appeal has been preferred by aforesaid appellant-convict under Section 374(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Code') challenging the impugned judgment of conviction dated 24.05.2018 and order of sentence dated 29.05.2018 respectively passed by learned Additional District and Sessions Judge No. 2, Bhagalpur in Sessions Trial No. 800 of 2014, arising out of Kahalgaon (Ghogha) P.S. Case No. 94 of 2014, whereby and whereunder the learned Trial Court has convicted the appellant for the offences punishable under Sections 302 read with 34 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as 'I.P.C.') and Section 27 of the Arms Act. Appellant has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life alongwith fine of Rs. 10,000/- under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the I.P.C. and in default of payment of fine appellant shall further directed to undergo simple imprisonment of six months and further sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for three years alongwith fine of Rs. 2,000/- under Section 27 of the Arms Act and in default of payment of fine appellant shall undergo simple imprisonment of one month. All the aforesaid sentences have been ordered to run concurrently. Case of prosecution

3. The brief case of prosecution as founded upon the "fardbeyan" of Girija Devi (P.W. 3), wife of Devendra Mandal, that on 09.03.2014, after having dinner, she returned to her house at around 10:00 PM. At that time, her son Prashant was sleeping on a cot at the doorstep along with Pappu Mandal (appellant), a resident of her village, while her middle son, Raghuveer Kumar, was sleeping alone on a nearby cot. At around 11:00 PM, she heard a noise from outside. She initially thought that there was a fire cracker bursting at nearby wedding in the village. After some time, Raghuveer and Pappu raised an alarm, saying that blood was coming out of Prashant's mouth. Upon hearing this, she came out and saw that blood was flowing from his mouth. Hearing the commotion, nearby villagers gathered and speculated that it might be due to the bursting of a vein in the brain. However, she suspected that her son had been shot, as blood was flowing from his body. At that time, Prashant's body was covered with a blanket up to his neck, due to which no bullet injury was visible. On the morning of 10.03.2014 at about 6:00 AM, when several people gathered and the blanket was removed, it was found that blood was flowing from the left side of his neck and also from rib cage. This made her firmly believe that Pappu Mandal, a resident of Musahari, Pannuchak, Kamalakund Babu Tola, along with unknown associates, had shot and killed her son, Prashant.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://patnahighcourt.gov.in/viewjudgment/NSM3OTIjMjAxOCMxI04=-C8RVj7Ms3V0=)

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.