STATE OF MAHARASHTRA Vs. BANDU AND PRADIP PUNDALIK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Special Leave Petition (Cri. ) No. 411/90 Leave granted. Heard with Crl. A. No. 656/89.

(2.) These appeals arise out of the judgment "of the Bombay High court in Crl. A. No. 16/ 187. The High court partly allowed the appeal filed by the convicted accused. It acquitted accused No. II completely and altered the conviction of accused nos. 1-6 and Accused Nos-8-10 from that under Section 302 read "with 149 Indian Penal Code to Section 304 Part II read with 149 Indian Penal Code. Aggrieved by their acquittal, the State has filed Criminal Appeal No. 656/89.

(3.) The prosecution case was that on 130. 4.86, sometime between 7.30 and 7.45 a. m. while Public Witness 1 - Karnal and his father PW 2 - Shravan were proceeding on their motor cycle to their field and were passing by the house of Accused no. 1 - Bandhu Pradip, a. 1 threw acid on them. As a result, both of them received bum injuries. Therefore, instead of proceeding to the field, they went to the police station and lodged a complaint against A. 1 and other accused who were seen chasing them with weapons. It is also the prosecution case that soon thereafter A. 1 alongwith A. 2 to A. 12 went to the house of pw 2 - Shrawan, entered his house, dragged his two sons - Anil and Arvind out and beat them mercilessly. Anil died and Arvind received serious injuries. 'pw 7 - Surinder was also assaulted and he had also received one injury on his ear. Part of his ear was cut completely. Public Witness 6 - Ambadas who had rushed to that place seeing the assault on Anil and arvind, was also l) eaten by those accused he was able to snatch away a sword from one of them and had wielded the same in his self defence. On these allegations, the 12 accused were tried for the offence punishable under sections 147, 148,302 read With 149,120b of the Indian Penal Code and 25 of the arms Act.