STATE BY ALDUR POLICE Vs. H M ANAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is filed by the State being aggrieved by the judgment of acquittal passed by the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Chickmagalur in S.C. No. 29 of 1981, dated 25-11-2000 wherein the accused 1 to 4 therein have been acquitted for having committed the offence punishable under Sections 302, 307, 324 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.

(2.) The essential facts of the case leading upto this appeal with reference to rank of the parties before the Sessions Court, are as follows.--

(3.) The prosecution examined P. Ws. 1 to 29 and got marked the documents-Exs. P. 1 to P. 48.M. Os. 1 to 29 were produced. Statements of the accused under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 were recorded. It is the defence of the accused that on the date of incident accused 1 had also stored coffee seeds in front of the house of P.W. 1 as he had no agricultural coolies in his house. He was sitting on the coffee kana in the Court yard of the house of P.W. 1 and while Ananda was so sitting, P.W. 1-Somegowda came out of the house holding sickle and abused Ananda-accused 1 as to why he has demanded the amount immediately and he came to assault accused 1. At that time, Krishnegowda himself intervened and separated his son-in-laws P.W. 1 and accused 1. It is the further case of the accused that when Krishnegowda intervened, P.W. 2-wife of P.W. 1 came with a sickle and her son Ravi-C.W. 4 and Murthy-P.W. 3 came with clubs, mistaking P.W. 1 as Ananda assaulted them since it was dark at the time of incident. P.W. 1 could not identify as to who assaulted whom and at that time having heard noise of galata, accused 3 and 4 came there and that electricity supply was restored after sometime and thereafter neighbours assembled and found that Krishnegowda had sustained injuries and further, accused 1 and 3 and also P. Ws. 1 and 2 had also sustained injuries. The accused have examined the mother of accused 2 and P.W. 2 as D.W. 1, the brother of D.W. 1 as D.W. 2 and further, accused 2 got herself examined as D.W. 3 and got marked the documents-Exs. D. 1 to D. 12.