DAJYA MOSHYA BHIL Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Special leave granted limited to the question, whether Appellants Nos. 2 and 3 shared the common intention with appellant No. 1 for committing murder of Gunjarya son of Dhanya.

(2.) If may at once be mentioned that the special leave petition on behalf of petitioner No. 1 was dismissed at the admission stage.

(3.) A few facts necessary to dispose of the contention raised oil behalf of appellants Nos. 2 and 3 may be stated. At a festival described as 'Indal' all altercation took place between deceased Gunjarya on one hand and appellants Nos. 2 and 3 Oil' the other oil account of the profane language used by appellants Nos. 2 and 3 who were then inebriated. Both of them were slapped by Gunjarya. The dispute consequent upon this altercation was settled by the local panchayat in which both appellants Nos. 2 and 3 on one hand and deceased Gunjarya on the other, were fined Rs. 5/- each:Oil May 26, 1981 when 'deceased Gunjarya accompanied by his two brothers Gobji and Pandys in company of P. W. 3 Hajarya, P. W. 4 Dajya and P. W. 5 Jahangriya and two others were busy dismantling the but of one Bamanya for the purpose of erecting a new hut on the nearby plot, the three accused came together and declared their intention of avenging the insult inflicted oil them by Gunjarya at the time of 'Indal' festival. At that time accused No. 1 was armed with a Dharya while appellants Nos. 2 and 3 were unarmed. Immediately all the three of them rushed towards deceased Gunjarya and when Gunjarya tried to escape he was chased. Original accused No. 1 gave a blow with the Dharya on the forehead of Gunjarya while appellants Nos. 2 and 3 were alleged to have pelted stones at Gunjarya resulting in causing two lacerated wounds to deceased Gunjarya. On these allegations all the three of them were-tried by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Dhule in Sessions Case No. 52 of 1981. The learned Judge convicted all the three of them for having committed an offence under S. 302 read with Section 34 of the Penal Code and sentenced each of them to suffer imprisonment for life. All the three of them preferred Criminal Appeal No. 1040 of 1981 in the High Court of Judicature at Bombay. A Division Bench of the High Court dismissed the appeal and confirmed the conviction and sentence of all the three appellants. Hence this appeal by special leave limited to the question hereinbefore set out.