Crl.A. No. 644  of 2004                                                                                                                                            1

    IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL APEPAL NO. 644  OF 2004

MANNU LAL MAHTO & ANR. APPELLANT

VERSUS

STATE OF BIHAR RESPONDENT

O R D E R

1. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties.

2. The  two  appellants,  a  husband  and  wife,  were  

convicted under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code and  

sentenced  to  undergo  rigorous  imprisonment  for  seven  

years and to a fine of Rs. 2,500/- each and in default of  

payment of fine to further rigorous imprisonment of one  

year by the Sessions Judge, Champaran, by judgment and  

order dated 24th March, 1997 in Sessions Trial No. 515 of  

1987.   Several  co-accused  of  the  appellants  were,  

however, acquitted.  The appellants thereafter filed an  

appeal before the Patna High Court and the High Court has  

confirmed the judgment of the Sessions Judge.  It is in  

this background that the matter is before us after the  

grant of special leave.

3. Ms.  Shweta  Garg,  the  learned  counsel  for  the  

appellants has raised pleas similar to the ones that had

Crl.A. No. 644  of 2004                                                                                                                                            2

been raised earlier before the trial court and the High  

Court.  She has first and foremost emphasised that the  

appellants had fired on the opposite party in the right  

of their private defence and in that eventuality they  

were entitled to complete exoneration of any wrong doing  

by virtue of Section 96 of the Indian Penal Code.  She  

has  further  highlighted  that  the  appellants  had  been  

chased by a mob of 300 or 400 persons and it was at that  

stage  that  they  had  fired  into  the  crowd  to  save  

themselves from harm.   

4. We find that this plea has not been accepted by  

the  courts  below  on  the  evidence  of  five  injured  

witnesses.  On the contrary, it transpires that  the  

appellant  Mannu Lal Mahto was constructing his house on  

public property and when he was called upon to stop the  

construction he got annoyed and fired into the crowd and  

caused the injuries.  Likewise, appellant No. 2 Panna  

Devi, his wife, had also fired into the crowd.  We also  

see  from  the  evidence  that  nine  persons  were  injured  

during the course of the firing.   

5. The learned counsel for the appellants has also  

argued that the injuries on the persons of Mannu Lal  

Mahto had not been explained.  We, however, notice that  

except for one injury on the metacarpal, all the other  

injuries on his person were simple in nature.  In the

Crl.A. No. 644  of 2004                                                                                                                                            3

light  of  the  categoric  finding,  however,  that  the  

incident happened when the appellants were constructing a  

house  on  public  property  and  that  they  had  been  

apprehended by the police immediately after the incident,  

no fault can be found with the observations of the courts  

below.

6. The  incident  happened  in  the  year  1987.  Twenty  

three long years have Elapsed since then.  The appellant  

Mannu Lal Mahto was an Army Personnel.  He has apparently  

lost his job on account of his conviction in the present  

matter and is presently employed as a Bank Guard.  The  

injuries  caused  to  the  opposite  party  were  simple  in  

nature which indicate that the shots had been fired from  

some distance.  In these circumstances, we feel that the  

ends of justice would be met if the sentence awarded to  

Mannu Lal Mahto is reduced from seven to four years, and  

that of his wife Panna Devi, from seven to two years.

7. We,  accordingly,  dismiss  the  appeal  with  this  

modification in the sentence.

.......................J [HARJIT SINGH BEDI]

.......................J [CHANDRAMAULI KR. PRASAD]

Crl.A. No. 644  of 2004                                                                                                                                            4

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 24, 2010.