MANIKLAL SAHU Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is at the instance of a convict accused and is directed against the judgment and order passed by the High Court of Chhattisgarh dtd. 30/7/2024 in Criminal Appeal No. 607 of 2023 (hereinafter referred to as "Impugned Judgment") by which the High Court partly allowed the Criminal Appeal filed by the appellant herein and altered the conviction of the appellant under Sec. 302 of the Indian Penal Code (for short, "the IPC") into one under Sec. 307 of the IPC.

(2.) It appears from the materials on record that four persons including the appellant herein were put to trial for the offence of murder of one Rekhchand Verma in the Sessions Case No. 21 of 2022 arising from the First Information Report bearing No. 0061 of 2022 dtd. 22/2/2022 registered with the Saja Police Station, District Bemetara, State of Chhattisgarh for the offence punishable under Ss. 458, 294, 506(B) and 323 of the IPC respectively.

(3.) It is the case of the prosecution that on the fateful day of the incident the appellant herein along with three other co-accused trespassed into the house of the deceased and dragged him upto the terrace of the house and flung him down. After the deceased was thrown down from the terrace, the appellant and other coaccused assaulted him with sticks and fisticuffs. The injured was shifted to the hospital in a very critical condition. Dying declaration of the deceased was recorded vide Ex. P-22 in which he named the appellant herein and the other co-accused. The deceased also made oral dying declarations before the doctors who attended him medically in the hospital.