RAJA CHANDU MONGRE Vs. STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) As the aforesaid three Criminal Appeals arise out of the same judgment and order dated 01.06.2012 passed by Additional Sessions Judge Bilaspur in Sessions Trial No. 62/2011 convicting and sentencing the accused/appellants as detailed below, they are disposed of by this common judgment.

(2.) Name of the deceased in the present case is Sunil Kumar alias Baba Yadav who is alleged to have been killed by the accused/appellants and the acquitted accused Vijay Mongre on 25.12.2010 at 10.30 p.m. On 26.12.2010 FIR Ex. P-18 was lodged by Navin Kaithwas (PW-9) stating that on 25.12.2010 at 10.30 p.m. he received a telephonic information through his younger brother Alok Kaithwas (PW-10) from the cell phone belonging to Dinesh Wadekar (PW-8) that Vijay Sweeper, Raja Sweeper and Ram Yadav were assaulting Baba Yadav with knife. FIR further states that PW-10 was also caught hold of by the aforesaid three persons in order to assault but he somehow managed to get rid of them and went to the house of Dinesh Wadekar (PW-8) along with his friend Morad Ali (PW-3) and then informed the police immediately. Thereafter, he along with Morad Ali went to the house of Vijay but as nobody was found there, they went behind his house in order to search Baba and noticed the movement of someone behind the bushes. On shout being raised by the lodger of FIR, first of all accused Manharan Yadav came out and then 3-4 persons ran away from there. Manharan Yadav then is stated to have informed him that Baba Yadav was killed by Vijay Sweeper, Raja Sweeper and Ram Yadav. Accused Manharan is also said to have informed the lodger of FIR that body of Baba Yadav was lying behind the bushes. The FIR was registered for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 34, IPC against Vijay Sweeper, Raja Sweeper and Ram Yadav. Immediately after lodging FIR, merg Ex. P-19 was recorded and inquest on the dead-body was conducted on 26.12.2010 vide Ex. P-4. Dead-body was sent for post-mortem examination which was conducted by Dr. S.K. Chandel (PW-15) who gave his report Ex. P-31. On the memorandum of accused Raja Ex. P-5, seizure of knife was made under Ex. P-7 and that of clothes under Ex. P-10; on the memorandum of accused Ram Yadav Ex. P-6 seizure of clothes was made under Ex. P-11. However, there is no FSL report on record. As accused Vijay was absconding, charge-sheet was filed only against the present appellants followed by framing of charges under Sections 302/34 and 201/34, IPC. Accused/appellant Raja has also been charged under sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act.

(3.) In order to prove its case the prosecution has examined 16 witnesses in support of its case. Statements of the accused/appellants were also recorded under section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 in which they denied their guilt and pleaded innocence and false implication in the case.