STATE OF KARNATAKA Vs. MOIN PATEL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal, at the instance of the State of Karnataka, is directed against the judgment of the Karnataka High Court in Crl. Appeal No. 158 of 1980 whereby the High Court reversed the conviction and sentence recorded against the four respondents under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC (on two counts) and also under Section 324 IPC against the Respondent No. 2 by the Additional Sessions Judge, Bidar and acquitted them. The two deceased, who were brothers, were closely related to the respondents in that the respondent No. 2 is the real brother of their father while the other three respondents are his (respondent No. 2's) sons. During pendency of this appeal the respondent No. 4 died and, therefore, the appeal, so far as he is concerned, abates.

(2.) According to the prosecution case on June 25, 1978, at or about 8 P. M., the four respondents (hereinafter to as R1 to R4 respectively), who, along with the family of the deceased, are residents of village Kaplapur within the police station of Khatak-Chincholi in the district of Bidar went to the shop of Gorkhnath (P. W. 14) in their village where Ismail Patel ('D1' for short) was sitting and assaulted him with axe and sickle resulting in his instantaneous death. Thereafter they went to the house of Chinnamma (PW 16), situated at a distance of 60/70 paces from the shops of Gorakhnath, and similarly did away with the other brother Syed Patel ('D2' for short). When one Sakharam tried to come to the rescue of D2 he was also assaulted by R2 resulting in an injury on his left thigh. After the incident Gorkhnath, accompanied by Amir Patel (PW 12) and others, went to the Police Sation and lodged a report there at or about 1 A. M. On that report PSI Khaja Sanaulla (PW 23) registered a case and after sending a report of the same to the Judicial Magistrate, Bhalki left for Kaplapur village at or about 1.45 A. M. Reaching there at 5 A. M. he held inquest on the dead bodies and sent them for post mortem examination. He seized some blood stained earth and sample earth from the two places where the dead bodies were found as also the blood stained clothes found on the bodies. He then recorded the statements of some of the witnesses under Section 161 Cr. P. C. On that very day (26-6-1978) Gulam Hamid (P. W. 24), the Circle Inspector of Police took over investigation of the case from P. W. 23 and went is search of the respondents but could not find them. However his repeated attempts to arrest the respondents ultimately met with success on July 17, 1978 when they were found in ditch near river Kanaja, flowing across Kurub Khedgi village. In course of search of their persons P. W. 24 found two keys in the pocket of the baniyan of R2 and seized them pursuant to the statement made by R2 (Ex. P. 36) and led by him PW 24 went to his house and with one of the seized keys he (R2) opened a room wherefrom a sickle, a dhoti and baniyan, all of which were blood stained, were recovered. Thereafter R1 took them to another room which on being opened with the other seized key found to contain an axe, a bushshirt, and a pair of trousers, all blood stained. P. W. 24 seized all those articles and sent them for chemical examination. On receipt of the report of the post mortem examination and chemical examination and after completion of investigation, PW 24 submitted a charge-sheet and in due course the case was committed to the Court of Session.

(3.) The motive that was ascribed by the prosecution to the respondents for the above murders was that the families of the accused and the deceased were having disputes and frequent quarrels over their properties in their village, and about a fortnight prior to the incident R2 had threatened D2 with dire consequences.