Y DASS Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Y. Dass, son of Yasit - petitioner No. 1, and G. Ananda Raj, son of Gangaiah - petitioner No. 2 sent the petition through the Senior Superintendent, Central Prison, Bangalore, to the Hon'ble Chief Justice with a prayer to admit the petition as Writ Petition and direct the State Government to release them from the prison contending that they were entitled to premature release. The petition was registered as a Writ Petition and Rule Nisi was issued to the respondent (State) by the Order dated 13-4-1989. The return is filed by the respondent in the form of the affidavit of the Senior Superintendent, Central Prison, Bangalore.

(2.) The record is perused. The learned counsel for the petitioners and Sri S. S. Koti, the learned High Court Government Pleader for the respondent, are heard.

(3.) The facts relevant to dispose of the Writ Petition are these: y. Dass (petitioner No. 1) and G. Ananda Raj (petitioner No. 2) were accused No. 10 and accused No. 5 respectively in Sessions Case No. 16/78 on the file of the Sessions Judge, Kolar. Petitioners Nos. 1 and 2 were tried along with 8 others of the various offences including the offences punishable under Sections 148, 302, 326 read with Section 34/149 of the Indian Penal Code. The learned Trial Judge by the Judgment and Order dated 13-2-1979, convicted G. Ananda Raj (petitioner No. 2) along with 5 others arrainged as A-1 to A-4 and A-6 for the offence punishable under Section 148 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to suffer Rigorous Imprisonment for two years. Petitioner No. 1 was convicted along with 7 others arraigned as A-3 to A-9 for the offence punishable under Section 326 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code and was sentenced to suffer Rigorous Imprisonment for a period of five years. He was also convicted along with two of his companions arraigned as A-3 and A-4 for the offence punishable under Section 326 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and was sentenced to suffer Rigorous Imprisonment for a period of one year. Petitioner No. 2 was convicted for the offence punishable under Section 324 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and was sentenced to suffer Rigorous Imprisonment for a period of one year. We are not concerned here with the particulars of the convictions entered and sentences imposed on other 8 persons who were tried of the offences along with these two petitioners. These two petitioners and 8 persons arraigned with them as co-accused preferred an appeal to this Court in Criminal Appeal No. 120/79. The respondent (State) being dissatisfied with the Judgment and Order of the learned Trial Judge acquitting petitioner No. 1 and petitioner No. 2 and four others arraigned as A-6, A-7, A-8 and A-9 of the offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code, sought leave to present an appeal against the same and on leave being granted, the appeal preferred by the State was registered in Criminal Appeal No. 279/79. There was also an appeal filed by the State in Criminal Appeal No. 280/79 for enhancement of the Life Imprisonment imposed on Ashokan and Vijayan arraigned as A-3 and A-4 respectively in the Sessions Case, to that of death. Persons arraigned as A-1 and A-2 had been convicted for the offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code on two counts and had been sentenced to death. There was a Reference made by the learned Trial Judge under Section 366 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (the Code for short) for confirmation of the death sentences imposed on persons arraigned as A-1 and A-2, registered in Criminal Referred Case No. 2/79. A Division Bench of this Court heard Criminal Appeals Nos. 120, 279 and 280 of 1979 along with Criminal Referred Case No. 2/79 and by the Judgment and Order dated 18-8-1980 disposed of the aforesaid three Criminal Appeals and the Criminal Referred Case. The Division Bench rejected the Reference, allowed Criminal Appeal No. 120/79 in part, set aside the conviction of A-l and A- 2 under Section 302 read with Section 34 and convicted them (A-l and A-2) under Section 302 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced each of them to suffer Imprisonment for Life. The Division Bench allowed the appeal preferred by the State in Criminal Appeal No. 279/79 and convicted petitioner No. 2 and petitioner No. 1 and their four companions arraigned as A-6, A-7, A-8 and A-9 for the offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 149 for having caused the murders of three deceased persons and sentenced each of the petitioners and four others to under Imprisonment for Life. The conviction of A-3 and A-4 for the offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 was set aside and instead they were convicted for the said offence read with Section 149 and the sentences of Life Imprisonment imposed on them were maintained. The Criminal Appeal No. 280/79, the appeal preferred by the State for enhancement of sentence of Life Imprisonment imposed on A-3 and A-4 to death was dismissed. Persons in the array not convicted by the Trial Court in respect of the assaults caused on the persons of two witnesses examined as P.Ws-1 and 7 were convicted for the offences punishable under Sections 326 and 324 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code and were sentenced to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for five years and one year respectively. The convictions of petitioner No. 1 under Section 326 on two counts for having caused grievous hurt to two witnesses were ordered to be deleted. The offences which were tried, were in respect of an occurrence that happened on 1-2-1978 at about 7-30 P.M. in Bazar Street, Ashok Nagar, Kolar Gold Field about a mile away from Robertsonpet Police Station. In the occurrence, three persons, namely, Balram, Manoharan and Parasuraman were done to death and two persons were injured.