KARBA SAPPA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE accused 1, 2 and 4 being aggrieved by the judgment of conviction and sentences dated 27-2-2001 passed by the learned Sessions Judge, gulbarga, in Sessions Case No. 2 of 1994, have approached this Court in the present appeal. It appears that accused 3 has not preferred any appeal.

(2.) THE brief facts as per the prosecution case leading to the present appeal are as follows. The deceased-Chandrasha, his son P. W. 1-Maruti, P. W. 5-daughter prema and P. W. 6 grandson Sripathi along with other close relatives was residing at Ele-Navadagi Village in Aland Taluk of Gulbarga district. The appellants are also residents of the same village and are inter se related. Accused 1 and 2 (Appellants 1 and 2) are the sons of accused 4. According to the prosecution, one year or so prior to the incident deceased-Chandrasha had purchased a land Sy. No. 81 of Bolli village from One Ramachandra-younger brother of accused 3- Revansiddappa. As accused 3 had also a land adjacent to this Survey no. 81, according to the prosecution the accused had a grudge or ill-will towards deceased-Chandrasha for having deprived them the benefit of having those lands and thus according to the prosecution this dissatisfaction on the part of the accused has led to the present crime.

(3.) ACCORDING to the prosecution on the date of incident namely i. e. , on 29-6-1993 at about 6 a. m. when the deceased-Chandrasha and his son p. W. 1-Maruti were tilling the land, all the four accused with common intention to assault and murder Chandrasha, armed with deadly weapons like axe, stick, knife and stones came to the land where P. W. and the deceased-Chandrasha were working, questioned as to why they had purchased the land and then it is alleged that they assaulted the deceased-Chandrasha with the weapons they were carrying. According to the prosecution, accused 3 assaulted on the head of the deceased with axe, accused 2 used a stone to throw at the deceased, accused 1 beat him with a stick and accused 4 assaulted with a knife. When P. W. 1 tried to rescue his father, it is alleged that the accused especially accused assaulted him also and thus causing fatal injuries to Chandrasha as well as injuries to Maruti-P. W. 1. As per the prosecution case, P. W. 6-daughter of the deceased as well as grandson, who had gone to the land to give lunch (butti) also saw the assault. P. W. 7-Siddalinga an independent witness a young man, who was grazing his sheep nearby is also an eye-witness to the incident. Immediately, after assault when p. W. 5 went to the village, which is very nearby and after receiving the information, it is alleged that P. Ws. 2 to 4 also came to the spot in a tractor, saw the injured, took them to the jurisdictional Police Station at narona. In the Police Station, statement of P. W. 1 is recorded by the a. S. I. in-charge of the Police Station as per Ex. P. 1 and on the basis of the same, a case in Crime No. 56 of 1993 against four accused came to be registered for the offences punishable under Sections 447, 326, 325, 324, 504 and 307 read with Section 34 of the IPC. It is to be noted that while the deceased was under treatment, died later and hence, the offence under Section 307 of the IPC has been altered to one under Section 302 of the IPC.