SANGAPPA Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) All the accused-appellants were charged and tried for the offences punishable under Sections 447, 504, 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) but were acquitted of all the charges by the trial court. On appeal preferred by the State of Karnataka, the High Court reversed the order of acquittal in relation to all the appellants and convicted them under Section 304 (Part-II) read with Section 34 of the IPC and sentenced them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of two years and imposed a fine of Rs. 30,000/- each, in default, to suffer simple imprisonment for a period of three years. Few Relevant Facts:

(3.) On 9th September, 1998 at about 6.00 p.m. one Shivalingayya lodged a first information report before the Sub-Inspector of Yedrami Police Station inter alia alleging that his son Sharanaiah was murdered by four persons namely Sangappa(A-1), Sharanappa(A-2), Malappa(A-3) and Jagadavappa (A-4). It is alleged in the report that on the fateful day Shivalingayya and his wife - Boramma (PW-1) joined their son Sharanaiah (deceased) in the fields to remove the unwanted weeds from their land. During that time all the accused persons were passing by the side of the complainant's land along with their bullocks and all of a sudden one bullock strayed into their fields and started grazing the crops. The deceased on finding that the bullock so entered into the fields asked the appellants to ensure that no damages caused to the crops. Enraged by the demand so made by the deceased all the accused started abusing the deceased. The matter did not end there. It is further alleged that Sharanappa (A-2) caught hold of the deceased, floored him to the ground and gagged his mouth and Sangappa (A-1) attacked the deceased with a knife and the other two accused Mallapa and Jagadevappa (A-3 & A-4) respectively hit the deceased on his back and legs with stones. Shivalingayya and his wife (PW-1) made an attempt to rescue their son but A-2 and A-3 forcefully pushed them aside. In the report, it is alleged that all the accused trespassed into the fields with the common intention of committing murder of the deceased as the deceased interfered in a matter concerning some illicit relationship between the sister of the accused and one Siddanna.