NINGAPPA Vs. THE STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE convicted accused nos. 1 to 3 in S.C. No. 117/2009 on the file of the Sessions Judge, Bagalkot, preferred this appeal against the judgment of conviction and sentence passed by the trial Court in convicting them for the offences punishable under Section 302, 326 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (for brevity hereinafter referred to as "IPC").

(2.) BEFORE adverting to the grounds urged before this Court, it is just and necessary to bear in mind few facts that emanate from the records. P.W. 1 -Rayappa Basappa Goudar is the complainant, resident of Bommanagi village along with his wife and deceased Nirmala who is the daughter. The said Nirmala was given in marriage to a person by name Hanamant Jummana Gouda. About a year after the marriage, the said Hanamant Jummana Gouda died. During the lifetime of Jummana Gouda, he had lands measuring 21 acres and 30 guntas in Sy. No. 49. Out of that extent, 6 acres of land was given to his sister's son by name Dhariyappa and remaining lands were looked after by the said Nirmala after the death of her husband for her livelihood. In this context, the deceased Nirmala filed an application to get her name mutated in the relevant revenue records before the Tahsildar Bagalkot. The accused No. 1 in fact who is none other than the relative of Jummana Gouda, filed a counter application in order to obstruct the mutation entries to be in the name of Nirmala. In this context, admittedly there is a civil suit and also revenue proceedings pending between the parties. Inspite of the pending litigation, the complainant Rayappa and his daughter Nirmala were cultivating the lands. A criminal complaint is also pending between the parties with regard to attempted trespass and dispossession of the deceased from the land by the accused No. 1. In this background of the case it is alleged that in order to do away with the life of deceased Nirmala to usurp the properties from the said Nirmala, accused nos. 1 to 3 have hatched a plan amongst themselves and in pursuance of the same they decided to eliminate Nirmala.

(3.) ON the ill fated day, i.e., on 11.08.2009 the said Nirmala and P.W. 1 Rayappa (complainant) were to attend the revenue Court at Bagalkot. They boarded a TOMTOM (Auto) vehicle from their village in order to go to Kudalasangama to catch the train to go to Bagalkot. Accused No. 3 was also in the said vehicle. The villagers by name Chandanagouda Ramaswamy Goudar, Ningappa Chandanagouda Goudar and some others have also boarded the said TOMTOM vehicle. All of them got down at a place called Manahalli cross. From there, they have to walk some distance to reach Kudalasangama Railway Station. Accused No. 3 who was also going along with the deceased and P.W. 1, went ahead talking in his mobile. The complainant and deceased and others walked about half a kilometer towards Kudalasangama. When they reached near the land of one Gangamma (P.W. 5), accused nos. 1 and 2 suddenly came across the road from a adjacent land holding choppers in their hands and all the accused Nos. 1 to 3 started abusing the complainant and his daughter -Nirmala. Hurling hues and abusive words against the complainant and his daughter, all the accused persons gathered to kill Nirmala and the complainant. By saying so, accused no. 3 caught hold of the plat/hairs of Nirmala, dragged her near a land and thrown her on the ground and facilitated accused nos. 1 and 2 to finish her. Being facilitated by accused no. 3, accused nos. 1 and 2 have indiscriminately assaulted on the neck, shoulder and other parts of the body of the deceased who sustained severe bleeding injuries and died on the spot. In fact, P.W. 1 attempted to rescue Nirmala but the accused persons have also assaulted P.W. 1 Rayappa on the left upper arm due to which he sustained grievous injuries.