ORISSA HIGH COURT ISSUES ORDER ON SITARAM JENA AND ORS. V/S STATE OF ORISSA

CUTTACK, India, April 27 -- Orissa High Court issued the following order on March 26:

1. The present Criminal Appeal, filed by the appellants is directed against the judgment and order dated 30.05.1992 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Balasore in S.T. No.7/4 of 1989, whereby the appellants have been convicted for the offences under Sections 395/457 of I.P.C. read with Section 9(B)(b) of the Indian Explosives Act. On that count, they have been sentenced to undergo R.I. for seven years each for the offence under Section 395 of I.P.C., to undergo R.I. for two years each for the offence under Section 457 of I.P.C. and to undergo R.I. for one year for the offence under Section 9(B)(b) of the Indian Explosives Act.

2. Heard Mr. Manoj Kumar Mohanty, learned counsel for the appellants and Mr. Ashok Kumar Apat, learned Additional Government Advocate for the State.

3. The appeal has been pending since 1992. During pendency of the appeal, barring the appellant No.1-Sitaram Jena and the appellant No.4- Birendra Jena, all the appellants have died on different dates. Therefore, the appeal qua the appellant No.2 (Madhusudan Jena), appellant No.3 (Panchanan Jena), appellant No.5 (Bhima Jena), appellant No.6 (Bangiri Jena), appellant No.7 (Bansidhar Jena) and appellant No.8 (Pratap Chandra Jena @ Kati) have already stood abated by virtue of various orders of this Court, which precisely reflected in the proceedings dated 09.04.2025 and 14.08.2025. In the absence of any application by the legal representatives or next friends of the deceased-appellants under Section 394 of the Cr.P.C. seeking leave to continue the appeal, the appeal qua the appellant Nos.2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8 stood abated. Accordingly, the present appeal survives for consideration only in respect of appellant Nos.1 and 4.

4. The prosecution case, as revealed from the F.I.R. (Ext.1), is that on the night of 16.01.1988, between 9:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., P.W.2 was sleeping in one room of their house at Nafrai along with his grandparents and younger brother. At that time, his mother (P.W.7) was awake, awaiting the return of her husband (P.W.1), who had not yet come back from his shop. At about 10:30 p.m., P.W.1 returned home, and after taking their meal, both P.Ws.1 and 7 retired to bed. While they were about to sleep, they heard a noise at the back door of the house. From the heavy thud, they suspected that some miscreants were attempting to break into the house. Shortly thereafter, they heard the door being forced open. Apprehending danger, P.W.1 opened the window and, in a state of panic, raised an alarm along with his wife (P.W.7), but no one responded. Meanwhile, they heard commotion from the room where the parents of P.W.1 were sleeping along with P.W.2 and his brother.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindiaHC/cases/display_pdf.php?filename=Nkc5poziyJM6nwucsLr7q2m1VocREd6M6GIuvLTEsxtkb9A%2FLzpN8mIlCNpzI0Lf&caseno=CRA/219/1992&cCode=1&cino=ODHC010002061992&state_code=11&appFlag=)

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