V SUBRAMANI Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Leave granted.

(2.) Appellants call in question legality of the judgment rendered by a Division Bench of the Madras High Court affirming their conviction and sentence for alleged commission of offence punishable under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (in short the IPC). Seven persons faced trial for allegedly having committed homicidal death of one Vadivel (hereinafter referred to as the deceased) and causing injuries on various persons in furtherance of their common intention after forming themselves into an unlawful assembly. It was alleged that they had committed rioting, assaulted some of the witnesses causing injuries in addition to causing death of the deceased. They were charged for commission of offences punishable under Sections 147, 148, 323, 307, 302 read with Section 109, Section 302 read with Section 149 and Section 307 read with Section 149, IPC. The trial Court found that in respect of three persons (hereinafter described as A-4, A-6 and A-7) no offence was made out and, therefore, they were acquitted.

(3.) Two of the accused persons before the Trial Court i.e. A-1 and A-2 were convicted of offence punishable under Section 324, IPC. The present appellants who were A-3 and A-5 were convicted in terms of Section 302, IPC. Though the prosecution had contended that all the accused persons acted in furtherance of common object being members of unlawful assembly and committed the crime, the trial Court did not accept the version. Considering the individual overt acts the learned Trial Court Judge had recorded conviction as afore-noted. So far as the present appellants are concerned, they were sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life.