STATE OF KARNATAKA Vs. P A VENKATESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Judgment and Order of acquittal passed by the District & Sessions Judge, Chickballapur dated 21.7.2009 in S.C. No.6/2007 is called in question in this appeal by the State.

(2.) THE case of the prosecution in brief is that Mr. Srinivasa, brother of Accused No.1 Venkatesh died in the road accident about three years prior to the incident in question; accused suspected involvement of the deceased Raghavendra Prasad in the death of Srinivasa; Wife of Accused No.1 was suffering from mental illness; Accused No.1 was under the impression that it was the deceased who was responsible for mental illness of the wife of Accused No.1; in addition to the same, the prosecution alleges political rivalry between the deceased and the accused; Accused No.5 is the father of Accused Nos.1 and 4; Accused Nos.2,3 and 6 are the relatives of Accused No.5; all the accused conspired to kill the deceased and in furtherance of the said common object, all the accused went to the house of the deceased at about 00.30 hours intervening between 14.6.2005 and 15.6.2005; at that point of time, the deceased was sleeping with his children and wife (PW.3) on the terrace of his house; PW.1, the brother of the deceased and PW.2, the father of the deceased were sleeping outside the house of the deceased in the ground floor since it was summer; all the accused armed with deadly weapons attacked the deceased who was sleeping on the terrace of his house; Accused No.1 said to have assaulted the deceased with long chopper on his forehead and face; Accused No.2 assaulted the deceased with chopper; Accused No.3 said to have assaulted the deceased with axe on his leg and thereafter on head; Accused No.6 had kept vigil; PW.3 raised hue and cry by seeing the assault on the deceased; After hearing the hue and cry, PWs.1 and 2 went to the roof top and noticed the offenders running away and jumping from the first floor; Immediately the injured Raghavendra Prasad was moved to Bagepalli hospital in a van and thereafter to NIMHANS and subsequently to Pristine hospital, Bangalore; Complaint came to be lodged by PW.1 before the SHO of Bagepalli Police Station (PW.28), who registered the Crime No.93/2005 based on the complaint (Ex.P1) at about 4.30 a.m. on 15.6.2005; The First Information Report was dispatched to the Magistrate, which reached the Magistrate on 15.6.2005 at 5 p.m.; Thereafter investigation has taken place and ultimately the Circle Inspector of Police (PW.24) laid the charge sheet after completion of the investigation.

(3.) IN order to prove its case, the prosecution in all examined 30 witnesses and got marked 24 Exhibits and 5 material objects. On behalf of the defence, 4 Exhibits were got marked from the evidence of the prosecution witnesses. As aforementioned, the trial Court on evaluation of the material on record acquitted the accused.