ASOKAN Vs. NARAYANAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE first of these appeals is by pw. 1, Asokan, a private complainant under S.417(3)of the Criminal Procedure Code, against the acquittal of 16 accused persons, in Sessions Case No. 27 of 1969 of the Additional Sessions Court, Trichur, in respect of offences under S.143, 148, 325, 326, 302, 427 and 449 read with S.149 of the Penal Code. The other appeal is by the State against the acquittal of 14 of those 16 accused persons in Sessions Case No. 26 of 1969 of the aforesaid Sessions Court in respect of the identical offences based upon a police report which was made on the strength of the first information lodged by pw. 2 Chennan.

(2.) THE reference to the accused, witnesses and documents, in the course of this judgment will be according to the array of the accused, the order in which the prosecution witnesses were examined and the documents marked in Sessions Case No. 27 of 1969 unless stated specifically otherwise,

(3.) . There was strained relationship between the members of the Congress Party and the Marxist Communist Party within the limits of Anthikad Police Station during the relevant period. Deceased Velappan Vydiar and pw. 1 were Congress-men and the accused persons were Marxist Communists. The relationship between them worsened on account one Gopalan putting up a hut unauthorisedly in the property of one Purushothaman. In spite of mediation at the instance of pw. 9 and deceased Velappan Vydiar, the dispute regarding the putting up of the hut could not be settled due to the insurgency of Gopalan. So Velappan Vydiar stated that if the dispute was not settled on the terms suggested by him he would put up another hut in the property of Gopalan and as a matter of fact a week prior to the incident a similar hut had been constructed in the property of Gopalan at the instance of Velappan Vydiar. In this dispute the accused persons who belonged to the Marxist Communist Party supported Gopalan while pw. 1 and deceased Velappan Vydiar who belonged to the Congress Party supported Purushothaman.