SIDDANKI RAM REDDY Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a Criminal Appeal against the judgment dated July 4, 2008 of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh in Criminal Appeal No. 147 of 2006.

(2.) The facts very briefly are that on February 28, 2005 one Komidi Sai Baba Reddy (deceased) was killed in the court premises of R.R. District at Cyberabad. The father of the deceased lodged a First Information Report (FIR) before the Station House Officer, P.S. L.B. Nagar alleging that on February 28, 2005 at 11.00 a.m. when the deceased was coming to the court, Narsimha Reddy's son, Srinivas Reddy and others sprinkled chilly powder in the eyes of the deceased and cut him by an axe and all this was done due to old vengeance. After investigation, a charge sheet was filed against 15 accused persons including the appellant in the court of the Second Metropolitan Magistrate, R.R. District, Cyberabad. As accused Nos. 11 to 15 were absconding, the case was split up and accused Nos. 1 to 10 were tried for several charges in Sessions Case No. 195 of 2005. After the trial the 5th Additional Sessions Judge (FTC) acquitted accused Nos. 2 to 10 of the charges and convicted the appellant, who was the accused No. 1, under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and sentenced him to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs. 25,000/- and in default to suffer Simple Imprisonment for one year.

(3.) Mr. Sushil Kumar, learned Counsel for the appellant, submitted that it will be clear from the evidence led by the prosecution that the deceased was killed in the court premises by a mob and there is no reliable evidence on record to show that it was the appellant who had killed the deceased. He took us through the evidence of PW-1, PW-5 and PW-6, who according to the prosecution are the eye witnesses, to show that none of them have been able to identify the assailant of the deceased. He referred to the FIR (Ext.P1) to show that the appellant-Ram Reddy had not been named in the FIR lodged by PW-1. He submitted that in the FIR the accused persons named are Narsimha Reddy's son and Srinivas Reddy, and the appellant is neither Narsimha Reddy's son nor Srinivas Reddy and, therefore, the evidence of PW-1 that the appellant was the assailant is not at all reliable.