DEVCHAND PATEL Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) As all these appeals arise out of a common judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 30.3.2007 passed by Sessions Judge, Janjgir- Champa in ST No.42/2006, they are being disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) Brief facts of the case are that on 24.11.2005 at 10.10 am deceased Navin Chouhan entered the house of Bhojkumari, sister of accused/appellant Murlidhar, and made an attempt to outrage her modesty. Bhojkumari informed about this incident to her brother Murlidhar, who in turn informed the other villagers and a decision was taken to call a village meeting. It is said that village panchayat was also attended by Navin Chouhan and during meeting he abused the villagers and then he was beaten by the persons present in the village panchayat and thereafter he was dropped at his house. Further case of the prosecution is that the deceased was provided home treatment and in the next morning i.e. 25.11.2005 he was taken to hospital where he was declared brought dead. Merg intimation Ex.P/2 was recorded on 25.11.2005 at 11.30 am at the instance of PW-1 Meera Bai, mother of the deceased. FIR (Ex.P/1) was registered immediately thereafter at 11.45 am under Sections 147, 149, 302 of Penal Code and Sec. 3(2)(v) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (in short "the Act, 1989") against five accused persons namely accused No.1 Kanhaiyalal, No.4 Hulasram, No.5 Devchand Patel, No.6 Ramesh Chouhan and No.7 Harishankar Patel. However, accused No.3 Murlidhar was not named in the FIR. Inquest over the dead body was performed vide Ex.P/10 on 25.11.2005. Thereafter, the dead body was sent for postmortem, which was conducted on 25.11.2005 by PW- 5 Dr. G.L. Miri vide Ex.P/8 wherein he noticed as many as 37 injuries on the body of the deceased, including 34 abrasions and bruises. In his opinion, the cause of death was excessive internal and external haemorrhage of blood from injury and the mode of death was shock and that the death was homicidal in nature. After filing of charge sheet, the trial Court framed charges against all the 10 accused persons under Sections 147, 302, 302/149 of Penal Code and Sec. 3(2)(v) of the Act, 1989.

(3.) So as to hold the accused persons guilty, the prosecution examined 26 witnesses in all. Statements of the accused were also recorded under Sec. 313 of Crimial P.C. in which they denied the circumstances appearing against them in the prosecution case, pleaded innocence and false implication. In their defence, they examined one Mohanlal Patel as DW-1.