STATE OF M P Vs. DHARKOLE GOVIND SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) State of Madhya Pradesh calls in question legality of the judgment rendered by a Division Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, at Jabalpur directing acquittal of the respondents (hereinafter referred to as the accused) on the ground that prosecution failed to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubts. Originally eight persons faced trial. Out of them co-accused Sunita and Kapoor Singh were acquitted. During the pendency of the trial one Ramkishore absconded. Two others Bhoora and Jabar Singh had died during trial. Trial Court convicted accused Komal Singh, Manni and Dharkole. During pendency of the appeal before this Court, accused Komal has died and the appeal stands abated so far as she is concerned. All the three accused were convicted for offences punishable under Section 302 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short the IPC). Appellant Manni was convicted for an offence punishable under Section 148 I.P.C. while the other two have been convicted for an offence punishable under Section 147 I.P.C. Each one of them has been sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life with a fine of Rs. 5,000/- for the offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 149 of I.P.C. Manni was directed to suffer rigorous imprisonment for two years for the offence punishable under Section 148 I.P.C. while the other two with rigorous imprisonment for one year for the offence punishable under Section 147.

(2.) Prosecution version in a nutshell is as follows: One Hamid Khan (hereinafter referred to as the deceased) was posted as a police constable in police station-Seodha. On the fateful day i.e. on 13.10.1989 at around 7 oclock in the evening an information was received in the police station that one Manni and his friends, who were wanted, were hiding in the house of one Mannu Teli. The deceased accompanied by head-constable Dayaram went in their search to the house of that Mannu Teli. At the house of Mannu Teli, his daughter Sunita met the police party and quarreled with. Later on, on the same day at about 7.45 p.m. she provoked the present respondents and four others viz., Bhure, Jabar Singh, Ramkishore and Kapoor Singh by weeping before them and telling them that the deceased had insulted her. They all conspired to kill the deceased on that very day. Thereafter, when the deceased Hamid Khan came to the betel shop of one Santosh in Seodha itself, those persons excluding Kapoor Singh came there in two batches of three each armed with sword, Gupti etc. After reaching near the shop of said Santosh, accused Bhure caught hold of the deceased and thereafter Jabbarsingh gave a blow by sword injuring the deceased below his left ear. Then accused Manni inflicted an injury below his right ear with a Gupti. As the deceased fell on ground, Kapoor Singh asked others to kill him. Accused Dharkole picking up a stone which was lying nearby; assaulted on the head of deceased. Kapoor Singh warned all those present there not to utter a word. Accused Komal thereafter kicked the deceased and all of them went away from there. However, one Ashok Sindhi informed head-constable Dayaram, who was on duty at that time at the Municipal House that some one has beaten one constable near the shop of Santosh. On receiving this information, head-constable Dayaram reached the spot and found the deceased lying seriously wounded. Suspecting the hands of present respondents and their friends in it because of the earlier attempt for their arrest, he informed his officer at police station. The Officer-in-charge of the police station thereafter reached the spot, inspected it and seized the blood stained and non-stained mud from the spot and the blood stained stone which was also lying nearby together with a wooden handle of Gupti. Subsequently, after his arrest accused Manni had led to the discovery of the remaining part of the Gupti, which was used by him in the crime. The deceased who was at that time only injured was immediately referred to Hospital and from the Hospital was referred to Gwalior for better treatment. On reaching Gwalior he was declared dead at Gwalior Hospital by the doctor concerned. Autopsy was performed by Dr. Vijay Kumar Diwan (PW-5) and it was found that he has succumbed to the injuries found on the body. Dr. V.S. Singh (PW-15), who had examined the deceased in Seodha, had found one lacerated wound on the parietal region, one abrasion on the neck and five incised wounds. Out of these five incised wounds two were on the left side of his face, one below the ear and the other on the mandible and remaining three on the right side of the face, one on the ear and two on the mandible.

(3.) The three accused persons who were tried jointly with two other co-accused persons preferred an appeal before the High Court. The primary stand before the High Court was that the medical evidence was at variance with the ocular evidence. Many persons who were stated to be present during the occurrence were not examined and on the basis of evidence of partisan witnesses, the conviction has been recorded and, therefore, the judgment was indefensible. The High Court by the impugned judgment held that the medical evidence was at variance with the ocular evidence, by reference to PW-15 who has stated that the Gupti which was supposed to be used was not sharp enough to cause the injuries. There was manipulation in records. Though the place of occurrence was nearby the police station, the information at the police station was lodged after a considerable lapse of time.